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Scouting Report: Sinner, Alcaraz headline Beijing; Fritz, defending champ Shelton compete in Tokyo

  • Posted: Sep 24, 2024

The Asian swing is heating up, with excitement building as attention turns to two eagerly anticipated ATP 500 hard-court events in Beijing and Tokyo.

After clinching his second major crown at the US Open earlier this month, Jannik Sinner is back in action on the ATP Tour, bidding to successfully defend his title at the China Open against a stacked field that features Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev.

In Tokyo, past 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.

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FIVE THINGS TO WATCH IN BEIJING
1) Sinner’s title defence: Jannik Sinner soared to glory at last year’s China Open, defeating both 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 seemingly poised to successfully defend the title in Beijing.

2) Will Alcaraz bounce back? Carlos Alcaraz suffered a shocking defeat in the second round of the US Open to Botic van de Zandschulp and, after helping guide Team Europe to glory at 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 pursuing 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 eventual champion Dominic Thiem in the second round. The explosive 27-year-old is coming into the tournament fresh off the back of a deep run at the Hangzhou Open, where he will play the final Tuesday, and offers plenty of hope for the home crowd. Other Chinese stars to watch will include #NextGenATP Shang Juncheng, who is competing in the Chengdu final Tuesday.

4) Can Medvedev avenge 2023 defeat? Daniil Medvedev fell short to Sinner in last year’s thrilling final in Beijing, but the 28-year-old will be eager to rewrite the script this time around if they are to cross paths. After his triumph over Medvedev in the US Open quarter-finals, Sinner has closed the gap to 6-7 in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series.

5) Koolhof/Mektic chasing Turin spot: Wesley Koolhof and Nikola Mektic, who currently occupy ninth place in the PIF ATP Live Doubles Teams Rankings, find themselves within touching distance of an all-important spot at the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin, but they will need to put points on the board as they kick off their Asia swing in Beijing.

FIVE THINGS TO WATCH IN TOKYO

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

Read Tokyo Draw Preview

2) Defending champ Shelton back in Tokyo: Ben Shelton returns to the site where he won his maiden ATP Tour title 12 months ago. It capped off a strong end to the 2023 season for the 21-year-old, who also made the semi-finals of the US Open. The American fell in the third round at Flushing Meadows this year to Frances Tiafoe in a blockbuster five-setter. The eighth seed plays countryman Reilly Opelka in the first round.

3) American threats at every turn: Fritz and Shelton are joined in the main draw 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 exempt spot due to his deep run at the Hangzhou Open. Paul is 11th in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin and 570 points behind eighth-placed Alex de Minaur, who is not competing in Tokyo due to injury.

4) Wild card for Nishikori: Two-time champion Kei Nishikori was granted a wild card to return to Tokyo for the first time since 2018. The former No. 4 in the PIF ATP Rankings has been hampered by injuries in recent times but is working his way back to full health with some impressive tennis. The 34-year-old reached the quarter-finals at the ATP Challenger Tour event in Genoa before coming up short against #NextGenATP Chinese lefty Shang in the first round of the Chengdu Open last week. 

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

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Zverev withdraws from Beijing

  • Posted: Sep 24, 2024

Alexander Zverev has withdrawn from the China Open.

The German reached the semi-finals at the ATP 500 a year ago before losing to Daniil Medvedev.

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Zverev leads the ATP Tour this season with 57 wins (57-18) according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index. He won a title at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Rome and reached the final at Roland Garros and Hamburg.

The China Open draw will be made later Tuesday. Leading the field will be the No. 1 player in the PIF ATP Rankings, Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz and Medvedev. Sinner defeated Medvedev in last year’s final.

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Cobolli on learning from Alcaraz & leaving McDonald's behind

  • Posted: Sep 23, 2024

Good things come to those who wait.

Flavio Cobolli has reaped the rewards of that philosophy this year on the ATP Tour. The 22-year-old Italian has enjoyed a breakout 2024, racking up 31 of his 37 career tour-level wins and rising to the brink of the Top 30 in the PIF ATP Rankings. For someone who had won just six tour-level matches entering the season, that is quite some progress.

“Since I was young, I told myself, ‘You are good at tennis. You can do well in this sport. Stay calm, take your time and be patient, because the results will come’,” Cobolli told ATPTour.com. “This year, the results came, so I’m happy.” 

Cobolli enjoyed an extra reward for his breakout season on the ATP Tour last week, when he joined Team Europe as an alternate for its successful Laver Cup campaign in Berlin. Just eight months after he entered the Top 100 of the PIF ATP Rankings for the first time, Cobolli spent a week in Berlin rubbing shoulders and practising with the likes of Bjorn Borg, Carlos Alcaraz, Alexander Zverev and Daniil Medvedev.

“I learned a lot from the guys. They are amazing,” Cobolli said in Berlin. “I didn’t know anyone here [except Alcaraz], but since the first day I came here they treated me well. They helped me a lot. They gave me some tips for the future, for the rest of the season. They are really nice and I enjoyed this week.

“I knew Carlos well. We are the same age, and we know each other really well. We have a nice relationship. I prefer to talk about other things than tennis with him, but I asked [Grigor] Dimitrov a lot of things, and Zverev. Guys that have a little bit more experience. Of course, Carlos is already a legend of our sport, but we prefer to talk about football or other things for now!”

 

After impressing but falling just short of a semi-final spot at the 2023 Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF last November, Cobolli spent time training with Alcaraz in the offseason. He credits that training stint as the key to his impressive rise this year.

“I did a lot of work in pre-season,” he said. “We worked a lot to improve on my game and my [mentality]. We went to the Ferrero Academy in Villena with Carlos. We did a lot of work, had fun together, and I think beginning the season like this helped me a lot for the results. I learned a lot from his team, and I had good results after that preseason.”

<img alt=”Thomas Enqvist, Grigor Dimitrov, Carlos Alcaraz and Flavio Cobolli of Team Europe at the Laver Cup.” style=”width:100%;” src=”/-/media/images/news/2024/09/23/20/51/cobolli-alcaraz-dimitrov-laver-cup-2024.jpg” />
Photo Credit: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images.
Cobolli’s first event of the year was the Australian Open, where he needed to earn entry in the main draw through qualifying. He successfully did so and advanced to the third round in Melbourne, which proved a pivotal and a crucial confidence-booster.

“I was one out [of the main draw] before the tournament, so I was really [disappointed],” he recalled. “But I qualified and then I won against [Nicolas] Jarry in five sets, so that match meant a lot to me. I also beat Felix [Auger-Aliassime] in February in Acapulco. It was a really good time for my career.”

Besides Alcaraz, Cobolli’s full-time presence on the ATP Tour has led to him crossing paths with another former World No. 1 and Grand Slam champion. In April in Barcelona, he was drawn to face Rafael Nadal in the Spaniard’s first competitive match for more than three months.

Taking on Nadal in front of an adoring home crowd was always going to be a tough assignment, and the 22-time major champion prevailed 6-2, 6-3. Yet Cobolli stayed true to his philosophy of staying patient in the face of tough outcomes, and he believes he took plenty away from the experience.

“Playing with Rafa is another level,” Cobolli said. “I watched him since I was young on TV and when the draw came out, I said, ‘I don’t know if I want to play with him, because I don’t know if I deserve it. I don’t know if I’m ready’. Of course I was a little bit nervous at the beginning, throughout the whole match even.

“It was a good experience. I enjoyed every point I did with him, and of course I learned also from that match. Things that helped me for the weeks that came after.”

[ATP APP]

Cobolli, who reached his maiden tour-level final in Washington last month, will next compete at another hard-court ATP 500, the China Open in Beijing. As he nears the end of his first full season on Tour, is there one key lesson he has learned from spending more time with the world’s best players?

“I think not just the Top 5 players in the world, but also the Top 50, they are really professional, and they never miss a thing,” he said. “They spend a lot of time recovering their bodies and healing well. All the training sessions they do are 100 per cent. At the beginning of the year, it wasn’t like this for me. I did 70 or 80 per cent, I ate McDonald’s. Now it has changed after I watched them. I changed it.”

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Nadal, Alcaraz & Sinner among players announced for Davis Cup Final 8

  • Posted: Sep 23, 2024

Rafael Nadal, Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner are among the players who were announced by their countries for the Davis Cup Final 8 in Malaga, to be played in November.

Nadal, who held No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings for 209 weeks in his career, has not competed since the Paris Olympics. His doubles partner there, Alcaraz, won two of the four majors — Roland Garros and Wimbledon — this year. They will try to secure glory for Spain.

The man who triumphed at the other two majors, the Australian Open and US Open, Sinner will lead the Italian contingent, which will also include Lorenzo Musetti, Flavio Cobolli, Andrea Vavassori and Simone Bolelli.

Another intriguing team is the United States, which will feature Taylor Fritz, Tommy Paul, Ben Shelton, Rajeev Ram and Austin Krajicek.

In the Final 8, Italy will face Argentina, the United States will play Australia, Germany will take on Canada and the Netherlands will battle Spain.

The quarter-finals will take place from 19-21 November, with the semi-finals on 22-23 November and the final on 24 November.

[ATP APP]

The rosters are as follows:

Italy
Jannik Sinner
Lorenzo Musetti
Flavio Cobolli
Andrea Vavassori
Simone Bolelli
Captain: Filippo Volandri

Argentina
Sebastian Baez
Francisco Cerundulo
Tomas Martin Etcheverry
Maximo Gonzalez
Andres Molteni
Captain: Guillermo Coria

United States
Taylor Fritz
Tommy Paul
Ben Shelton
Rajeev Ram
Austin Krajicek
Captain: Bob Bryan

Australia
Alexei Popyrin
Jordan Thompson
Thanasi Kokkinakis
Max Purcell
Matthew Ebden
Captain: Lleyton Hewitt

Germany
Jan-Lennard Struff
Yannick Hanfmann
Kevin Krawietz
Tim Puetz
Captain: Michael Kohlmann

Canada
Felix Auger-Aliassime
Denis Shapovalov
Gabriel Diallo
Alexis Galarneau
Vasek Pospisil
Captain: Frank Dancevic

Netherlands
Tallon Griekspoor
Botic van de Zandschulp
Jesper de Jong
Wesley Koolhof
Captain: Paul Haarhuis

Spain
Carlos Alcaraz
Roberto Bautista Agut
Rafael Nadal
Pablo Carreno Busta
Marcel Granollers
Captain: David Ferrer

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China's Zhang reaches first ATP Tour final, faces Cilic in Hangzhou

  • Posted: Sep 23, 2024

Zhang Zhizhen advanced to his first ATP Tour final on Monday at the Hangzhou Open, where he defeated countryman Buyunchaokete 7-6(3), 6-4 to become just the third Chinese man in history to reach a tour-level championship match.

Competing against wild card Buyunchaokete in the first all-Chinese ATP Tour semi-final, the sixth seed Zhang raised his level on serve at the crucial moments. The 27-year-old saved all four break points he faced, according to Infosys ATP Stats, and fired 10 aces to earn the biggest win of his season after one hour and 40 minutes.

“It was a great match,” Zhang said. “His performance was really good. In two sets, it was one break. It was a bit lucky but I am happy with the result today.”

Zhang joins 2023 Dallas champion Wu Yibing and this week’s Chengdu finalist Shang Juncheng as the third Chinese ATP Tour finalist.

“We keep going. We try to play our best and try our best. Also for Shang, to try his best and we will see,” Zhang said.

Zhang, who had lost his two previous tour-level semi-finals in Hamburg and Halle, has dropped just one set en route to the title match in Hangzhou. Up to No. 41 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings, the Chinese star will meet Marin Cilic in the final.

Earlier, Cilic reached his first ATP Tour final in two years, moving past American Brandon Nakashima 6-4, 7-6(6).

The Croatian wild card, who arrived in Hangzhou at No. 777 in the PIF ATP Rankings, saved two set points in the second set tie-break to become the second lowest-ranked finalist in ATP Tour history.

“I needed to be focused every point. I needed to find a way to find my game and battle against my opponent,” Cilic said after his one-hour, 46-minute win. “It was physical. I was 4/6 behind in the tie-break. I played a great point [at 5/6] and came back. Great spirit, great fight and great tennis.”

Cilic has reached at least one tour-level title match in 14 different seasons since 2008 and will aim to win his first ATP Tour trophy since October 2021 (St. Petersburg) when he faces Zhang.

“It is such a great pleasure to come here. I arrived quite early and have enjoyed the city, the atmosphere,” Cilic said. “It has been an incredible week so far.”

The 35-year-old Cilic is competing in his first ATP Tour event since Buenos Aires in February, after which he was sidelined with a knee injury for several months. The former World No. 3 is aiming to clinch his 21st title and 16th on hard courts.

Nakashima was playing at a career-high No. 39 in the PIF ATP Rankings following his run to the fourth round at the US Open. The former Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF champion was trying to reach his first tour-level final of the season.

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#NextGenATP Shang surges to Chengdu final, will play Musetti

  • Posted: Sep 23, 2024

Shang Juncheng continued to show his home fans why he is a rising star for Chinese tennis on Monday at the Chengdu Open.

The #NextGenATP star eased past Yannick Hanfmann 6-4, 6-4 at the ATP 250 in his homeland to reach his maiden ATP Tour championship match. Shang used his lefty forehand to pull his opponent around the court throughout their maiden Lexus ATP Head2Head clash, and he broke Hanfmann’s serve once in each set en route to an 89-minute victory.

“A lot of emotions tonight,” said the 19-year-old Shang. “I played some really good tennis to get some breaks on his serve and overall I just played solid tennis. I was very calm in my head and enjoyed the crowd.”

Shang was just the second Chinese man to reach a tour-level final, after 2023 Dallas champion Wu Yibing. Zhang Zhizhen shortly thereafter became the third on that list after defeating another Chinese player, Buyunchaokete, in the semi-finals at the Hangzhou Open later on Monday.

“We’re doing a lot better on the men’s side,” said Shang, when asked about being part of the current wave of Chinese ATP Tour stars. “The women’s side, they’ve been so good in the past. I’m just glad we can make some breakthroughs… I just focus on myself to become a better player, because I know it’s a long way to go if you want to become one of the best.”

Having lost his first two ATP Tour semi-finals in Hong Kong (l. to Rublev) and Atlanta (l. to Thompson) earlier this year, Shang was proactive in his bid to avoid another last-four disappointment. He struck the ball with intent throughout the match and showed few nerves in closing out a victory in which he did not face a break point, according to Infosys ATP Stats.

Shang has bolstered his position in third in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah on the back of his dream run on home soil. The 19-year-old is now just 68 points behind second-placed Alex Michelsen as he chases a debut appearance at the season-ending Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF. He will rise above Michelsen into second if he lifts the trophy in Chengdu.

[ATP APP]

Awaiting Shang in the championship match will be top seed Lorenzo Musetti, who is bidding to take the final step into the winner’s circle for the third time in 2024.

Musetti downed qualifier Alibek Kachmazov 6-4, 6-2 to reach the championship match in Chengdu. The Italian, who has also reached tour-level finals at Queen’s Club and in Umag this year, held firm in the face of some clean baseline hitting from his opponent.

Despite the one-sided nature of the scoreline, Musetti needed one hour and 42 minutes to end the fairytale run of Kachmazov, who had not dropped a set all week in Chengdu (including qualifying) prior to the match. The Italian saved all three break points he faced, according to Infosys ATP Stats, en route to his personal-best 37th tour-level win of the year.

“He was solid, He was really impressive from the beginning, and it was not easy to break him or to hold serve,” said Musetti in his on-court interview. “I think it was one of my best performances so far on serve and I’m really happy about it. I’m really happy to be in the final.”

Reaching his fifth ATP Tour final this week in Chengdu has also boosted Musetti’s chances of forging a late run to a Nitto ATP Finals debut in 2024. The 22-year-old remains 15th in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin but is now just 855 points behind eighth-placed Alex de Minaur.

Despite semi-final defeat, the 22-year-old Kachmazov has risen 73 spots to No. 179 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings and is set to rise to a career-high in the PIF ATP Rankings on Wednesday off the back of his run in Chengdu. He defeated Top 100 opponents Aleksandar Kovacevic, Taro Daniel and Nicolas Jarry in the main draw.

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Alcaraz on Laver Cup nerves: ‘I’m a good actor’

  • Posted: Sep 23, 2024

Carlos Alcaraz has developed a winning habit when competing on the biggest stages in the early years of his standout career.

The 21-year-old holds a perfect 4-0 record in major finals and earned the vital win for Team Europe against Team World in the Laver Cup on Sunday night to seal victory for Bjorn Borg’s side. The Spaniard showed little sign of nerves in his straight-sets win against Taylor Fritz in Berlin, but revealed that isn’t always the case inside his head.

“That means I’m a pretty good actor,” Alcaraz said after teammate Grigor Dimitrov felt the Spaniard showed little tension on court. “I was nervous, I’m not going to lie. After Sascha’s match, he did a really good job. It was time for me to do my job. I had to win. After that comeback, I had to win.

“I had nerves, I was a little bit nervous. I tried not to show Taylor that I was nervous, but I think I played one of my best matches so far. Tried to be as match-calm as I can and hit it as good as I can.”

Alcaraz was making his Laver Cup debut and revealed that he felt a different kind of pressure during the team event to what he is used to when he competes for trophies alone on Tour.

“It was a different feeling. Obviously having them [Team Europe] supporting me behind me, it is different,” said 15-time tour-level titlist Alcaraz. “They try to just stay there and show me good energy all the time that makes me feel really comfortable on court and trying to pull out all the nerves and play good tennis.”

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Captain Borg was leading Team Europe for the seventh and final time, with Yannick Noah set to replace the Swede next year. Borg led Team Europe to Laver Cup glory in five of the seven editions he captained and is pleased with how this year’s event went.

“A good team, good spirit. We have been having a good week together,” Borg said. “If we started this Sunday in the morning, I think we had problems, but all these guys came through. It’s unbelievable. I’m so happy. I’m very happy because it’s my last year Laver Cup, and for me to have this team, it’s beautiful.”

Team Europe trailed Team World heading into the final day of action but won three of the four rubbers on Sunday to earn a 13-11 victory.

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Tokyo Draw: Fritz meets Fils, Turin hopefuls learn fates

  • Posted: Sep 23, 2024

Top seed Taylor Fritz will face #NextGenATP Frenchman Arthur Fils in a blockbuster first-round round match at the Kinoshita Group Japan Open Tennis Championships, where several stars will aim for deep runs to boost their Nitto ATP Finals hopes.

The American is a former champion at the ATP 500 in Tokyo, lifting the trophy in 2022. The 26-year-old, who advanced to the final at the US Open earlier this month, arrives in Tokyo fifth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin.

If Fritz overcomes Fils, he could play former Top 10 star Matteo Berrettini in the second round. The Italian, who has won three tour-level titles this year, will face a qualifier in his first match following Monday’s draw.

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Second seed Hubert Hurkacz, third seed Casper Ruud, fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas and fifth seed Tommy Paul are all in Nitto ATP Finals contention and take to court in Tokyo.

Hurkacz will aim to record his first match win in Tokyo on his third attempt when he meets Marcos Giron in the first round and could play US Open semi-finalist Jack Draper in the second round. The British lefty, currently at a career-high No. 20 in the PIF ATP Rankings, starts against a qualifier.

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Casper Ruud, who is sixth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, faces Jordan Thompson, with sixth seed Holger Rune a potential quarter-final opponent. Ruud is in the same half as Fritz. In the bottom half of the draw, Stefanos Tsitsipas begins against a qualifier and is seeded to play Paul in the last eight. Paul takes on Matteo Arnaldi in the first round.

Home favourite Kei Nishikori is a two-time Tokyo champion. The Japanese wild card plays former World No. 3 Marin Cilic in the first round. Nishikori leads the Croatian 9-6 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series, with their previous meeting coming at the US Open in 2018.

Seventh seed Frances Tiafoe plays former Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF champion Brandon Nakashima in the first round, while defending champion Ben Shelton takes on American Reilly Opelka. Japanese wild card Yoshihito Nishioka faces Felix Auger-Aliassime, and last year’s semi-finalist Shintaro Mochizuki plays Ugo Humbert.

The hard-court event starts on Wednesday.

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