Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz article Beijing; Taylor Fritz competes in Tokyo | ATP Tour

Inspection Report

Test Report: Sinner, Alcaraz article Beijing; Fritz, defending champion Shelton competes in Tokyo

The ultimate summary of what every fan should know about the upcoming week

September 24, 2024

Asian tennis is heating up, with excitement building as attention turns to two hard court ATP 500 events in Beijing and Tokyo.

After winning his second major title at the US Open earlier this month, Jannik Sinner is back in action on the ATP Tour, looking to successfully defend his title at the China Open in a field full of Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev.

In Tokyo, former champions Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton are among the contenders for the Kinoshita Group Japan Open Tennis Championships title.

ATPtour.com looks at five things to watch at each event.

FIVE THINGS TO SEE IN BEIJING
1) Protection of the title of the sinner: Jannik Sinner claimed glory at last year’s China Open, defeating Alcaraz and Medvedev as the sixth seed en route to the title. The Italian is now No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings, a two-time Grand Slam champion, and looks poised to successfully defend the title in Beijing.

2) Will Alcaraz bounce back? Carlos Alcaraz suffered a shock second-round loss at the US Open to Botic van de Zandschulp and, after helping Team Europe to victory in the Laver Cup, the Spaniard will return to China with a point to prove. The 21-year-old sits third in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, 1,590 points ahead of Medvedev, and is chasing his fourth title of the season.

3) Home hope Zhang: Chinese star Zhang Zhizhen returns to Beijing for the first time since 2019, when he fell to Dominic Thiem in the second round. The 27-year-old is coming off a recent tournament run at the Hangzhou Open, where he will play in the final on Tuesday, and offers plenty of hope for the home crowd. Other Chinese stars to watch will include #NextGenATP Shang Juncheng, who will compete in Chengdu on Tuesday’s final.

4) Can Medvedev avenge the 2023 defeat? Daniil Medvedev lost to Sinner in last year’s final in Beijing, but the 28-year-old will be keen to rewrite the script this time around when they cross paths. After his victory over Medvedev in the US Open quarterfinals, Sinner closed the gap to 6-7 in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series.

5) Koolhof/Mektic chasing Turin spot: Wesley Koolhof and Nikola Mektic, currently ranked ninth in the PIF ATP Live Doubles Teams Rankings, find themselves in a very important position at the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin, but they will need to put points on the board. they started their swing in Asia in Beijing.

FIVE THINGS TO SEE IN TOKYO

1) Feeling good about Fritz aiming for Turin: Taylor Fritz will be hoping to maintain the form that saw him reach his first US Open final. The 26-year-old, who is enjoying his best season on Tour, is fifth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin and is in strong contention for a second appearance at the Nitto ATP Finals. Fritz starts against #NextGenATP Frenchman Arthur Fils in Tokyo.

Read Tokyo Draw Preview

2) Defending champion Shelton back in Tokyo: Ben Shelton returns to the venue where he won his first ATP Tour title 12 months ago. It capped a strong end to the 2023 season for the 21-year-old, who also reached the US Open final. The American went down in the third round at Flushing Meadows this year to Frances Tiafoe in a blockbuster five-setter. The eighth seed plays Reilly Opelka in the first round.

3) America’s threats at all times: Fritz and Shelton were joined in the main tournament by Tommy Paul and Frances Tiafoe, two other American men who also find themselves inside the Top 20 in the PIF ATP Rankings. Brandon Nakashima earned a special exemption spot for his deep run at the Hangzhou Open. Paul is 11th in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin with 570 points behind eighth-ranked Alex de Minaur, who is not competing in Tokyo due to injury.

4) Nishikori’s wild card: Two-time champion Kei Nishikori has been given a wild card to return to Tokyo for the first time since 2018. The former number 4 in the PIF ATP Rankings has been hampered by injuries in recent times but is working his way back to full health. impressive tennis. The 34-year-old reached the quarter-finals of the ATP Challenger Tour event in Genoa before coming up short against China’s #NextGenATP leftist Shang in the first round of the Chengdu Open last week.

5) Hurkacz, Ruud among the stars to watch: Eight seeded players are each in the Top 20 of the PIF ATP Rankings. Other stars to watch are Hubert Hurkacz second, Casper Ruud third, Stefanos Tsitsipas fourth and Holger Rune sixth. Ruud is sixth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin and is trying to return to the Nitto ATP Finals after missing one year ago.