Zhang Zhizhen has taken the ATP Tour by storm within the past year and is closing in on his Top 50 debut in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.

According to the Chinese star, a light-hearted topic often comes up in conversation with his friends when he is enjoying time off the court.

“They really care about my haircut!” Zhang revealed in the latest edition of ATP Uncovered’s ‘I Am’ series. “Because my hair is curly [and] I had long hair some time last year, so they always started talking about my haircut!”

The Chinese No. 1 also revealed his childhood idol and the two-time major champion after whom he tried to model his two-handed backhand.

“When I was around 12 or 13, I tried [it] but it was not for me,” Zhang said. “I’d say it’s a little bit different.”

Want to know who Zhang was referring to? Watch the full video above to learn about the Shanghai native’s tennis aspirations, the sport he enjoys outside of tennis and one shot he would steal from another player.

Australian star Thanasi Kokkinakis is among the players who will be in action Monday at Wimbledon, where qualifying action will get underway.

The 27-year-old, who reached the second round of the main draw last year at SW19, will open against #NextGenATP Swiss Leandro Riedi. If he advances, an accomplished veteran will be waiting.

If Kokkinakis wins, he will play the winner of Oscar Otte and Benoit Paire. Otte enjoyed a breakout grass-court season in 2022, when he reached the semi-finals in Stuttgart and Halle before advancing to the third round at Wimbledon. Paire made the fourth round at the grass-court major in 2019.

There is a blockbuster first-round qualifying matchup between first seed Matteo Arnaldi, who upset Casper Ruud in Madrid, and Shang Juncheng. Shang has successfully qualified for the season’s first two majors.

Also in action will be third seed Fabian Marozsan, who upset Carlos Alcaraz in Rome. The Hungarian will face Ukrainian Oleksii Krutykh.

Hyeon Chung, the 2017 Next Gen ATP Finals champion, will compete in Wimbledon for the first time since 2015 when he faces Dimitar Kuzmanov.

Guido Pella earned his first grass-court win since 2019 Wimbledon on Sunday when he battled past Marcos Giron 3-6, 6-2, 7-6(3) to reach the second round of the Mallorca Championships.

“Of course it was very tough. I know I can play good on grass, but you have to get used to this surface. It’s not like clay or hard courts,” Pella said. “You have to practise, practise and practise, and this is my fourth day I think, so it was very tough.”

The Argentine lefty trailed by a break in the third set, but rallied to earn a second-round showdown against fourth seed Adrian Mannarino.

In other action, Corentin Moutet eliminated Christopher O’Connell 7-5, 6-4. The Frenchman will play eighth seed Roberto Carballes Baena or Ilya Ivashka. They were tied at one-set apiece before play was suspended for the evening in Mallorca.

Surface sweep completed in 2023 for Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek.

The Croatian-American duo lifted the trophy at the Cinch Championships on Sunday in London with a 6-4, 6-7(5), 10-3 triumph against Taylor Fritz and Jiri Lehecka. The second seeds delivered a dominant Match Tie-break display to claim their fourth tour-level title of the season. They have now won tournaments on hard courts, clay and grass in 2023.

“After the clay this was our first tournament, but we really worked hard and played good tennis,” said Dodig. “It’s a little bit easier when you play on the best grass in the world. I just want to congratulate Jiri and Taylor for a great week, and thank [the fans] for coming… It was really amazing and a pleasure to play in front of you.”

🏆 Champions in London 🏆

No. 2 seeds @DodigTennis & @AustinKrajicek prevail over Fritz/Lehecka to win their FOURTH tour-level title of the year! @QueensTennis | #cinchChampionships pic.twitter.com/UkoZTVeMzc

— ATP Tour (@atptour) June 25, 2023

Dodig and Krajicek did not drop a point behind their delivery in the Match Tie-break against singles stars Fritz and Lehecka to cap a strong overall serving performance at the Queen’s Club. The pair won 80 per cent (36/45) of points behind its first serve en route to a one-hour, 49-minute triumph.

It was 23-time tour-level champion Dodig’s first grass-court trophy. With his 11th tour-level title, the 33-year-old Krajicek ensured he will return to No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Doubles Rankings on Monday, a week after he was usurped by Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski.

“It’s amazing, it’s been a great week in London playing on the best grass court in the world.,” said Krajicek, when asked about his return to World No.1. “It’s my first time at Queen’s Club and it definitely won’t be my last.”

Dodig and Krajicek are now 22-5 for the season, and the first-placed pair in the Pepperstone ATP Live Doubles Teams Rankings. They extended their winning streak to 10 matches after they backed up their maiden major crown as a team at Roland Garros with a title run on the London grass.