“I won’t take it for granted”

Thompson lost to Shang earlier this year at Indian Wells, but in Atlanta he won the rematch.

“It was a bad day at the office for me (losing to Shang), he played a good game that day,” Thompson said of his March loss. “I just played a lot better today, you know, had a really good game and you know, I ended up getting there.”

The entirety of the hard-fought semifinal focused on the shot that kicks things off: the serve. In the first set, Thompson managed to break Shang twice, allowing him to win the first set in less than an hour. Thompson also used a variety of different shots to change the pace of the ball. Whether it was a flat forehand down the line, a deep topspin rally ball or a short drop shot, Thompson eventually broke Shang to win the first set.

“I think with my style of play, I have to be versatile,” Thompson said. “I have to throw players off balance, you know, show different looks every time.”

However, in the second set, with Thompson serving, Shang showed resilience by breaking him immediately for the first time in the match. Alternating between service winners throughout the set, Shang began to win the longer points, limiting his unforced errors and gradually tiring Thompson.

Towards the end of the second set, Shang looked reinvigorated and energized, and called out a “Yeah!” after several winners. Shang won the set 6-4, testing Thompson’s ability. Thompson’s early break was the key to Shang taking the lead, securing the second set win and increasing the pressure.

At the start of the third set, each with a set under their belt, the two players did not give up and went head to head. Each hit several aces, played forehand against forehand and the points only got longer.

The score was 3-3 when Thompson held serve to take control of the match, 4-3.

As Shang was about to serve and had a chance to tie the final set 4-4, the crowd made it clear who they had given their blessing to: Shang. Between points, the crowd cheered, “Let’s go Jerry!” Whether it was the crowd’s motivation against him or his own state of mind, Thompson broke Shang to move to 5-3 and eventually 6-3 to win the match.

During the match, Thompson showed his doubles prowess by coming to the net almost every time to win a volley while applying pressure that forced Shang to miss. He played both offensively and defensively to eliminate Shang and advance to the final.

“(Winning) an ATP title is not something to take lightly. I mean I only have one,” Thompson said. “I’ve said it before, you know, guys go their whole career without playing a final. For me, another final, hopefully I can go all the way, but I’m not going to take it for granted.”

This will be Thompson’s first appearance in the Atlanta Open final and his second singles final of the year, where he will face the winner of Yoshihito Nishioka and Arthur Rinderknech in Sunday’s final.