GB's Kartal runs Navarro close in BJK Cup semi-final
A battling Sonay Kartal falls to the United States’ Emma Navarro, as Great Britain go 1-0 down in the semi-finals of the Billie Jean King Cup.
A battling Sonay Kartal falls to the United States’ Emma Navarro, as Great Britain go 1-0 down in the semi-finals of the Billie Jean King Cup.
Jannik Sinner’s story at the China Open in Beijing has been one of glory, pain, and promise still to be fulfilled.
After announcing himself on Chinese soil with a dazzling title run on his debut in 2023, the Italian returned the following year to reach another final, only to fall short in an unforgettable showdown with Carlos Alcaraz that showcased the very best of their Lexus ATP Head2Head rivalry. That defeat stung, but it also planted the seeds for future success.
Now, as the No. 2 player in the PIF ATP Rankings, Sinner returns with renewed determination and the confidence of a player who has already conquered Beijing. Ahead of the 2025 edition, ATPTour.com revisits his journey at the ATP 500 event.
2023: Dream Debut
After a stunning run across the 2023 season, highlighted by his first ATP Masters 1000 title in Toronto, Sinner arrived in Beijing as an established Top 10 player brimming with confidence. The then-22-year-old’s level rose even further that week.
He prevailed over Daniel Evans and Grigor Dimitrov in three sets, either side of a commanding win against Yoshihito Nishioka, to book a semi-final against Alcaraz. In a clash that underlined the growing intrigue of their rivalry, Sinner raced to a 7-6(4), 6-1 victory to move ahead 4-3 in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series.
From there, Sinner carried that momentum into the championship match against Daniil Medvedev, who had defeated him six straight times, including earlier that season in the Miami final. On this occasion, Sinner held his ground across two tie-breaks to capture his maiden Beijing crown and cement his debut inside the Top 5 in the PIF ATP Rankings.
“Daniil, thanks for letting me win at least one match,” Sinner joked during the trophy ceremony. “We have had some very tough battles, especially this year. Thanks for making me a much better player. I have been training a lot to beat you. My team are working a lot. Thank you very much and it is special to share this moment with you.”
Watch Beijing 2023 Final Highlights:
2024: Rivalry and Resolve
By the 2024 Asian swing, Sinner had established himself as the first Italian to reach No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings and was a dominant threat on hard courts. In Beijing, however, his path was anything but straightforward.
He had to rally from a set down in each of his opening two matches against Nicolas Jarry and Roman Safiullin before finding his stride and surging into a second consecutive final. There, a familiar rival awaited once again: Alcaraz, and their latest encounter lived up to the billing.
The pair traded jaw-dropping exchanges across three pulsating sets, and Sinner appeared on the verge of successfully defending his crown when he raced to a 3/0 lead in the final-set tie-break. Yet Alcaraz stormed back, reeling off seven consecutive points to snatch the title and notch his third straight win over the Italian.
“It’s always nice to be part of these kinds of matches. Obviously disappointed it didn’t go my way. These kinds of matches can really go both ways. But it was not my day,” Sinner said. “He played better in important moments. That’s it. I’m proud again of a great week, making finals here. Last year I won here. For sure it’s a place where I love to play, so I’m already looking forward to next year.”
<img alt=”Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz” style=”width:100%;” src=”/-/media/images/news/2025/09/19/16/11/sinner-alcaraz-beijing-tournament-feature-2025.jpg” />Jannik Sinner poses with Carlos Alcaraz after their three-set Beijing final in 2024. Photo: Lintao Zhang/Getty Images.
2025: Beijing Bounceback?
Two years on from his maiden triumph and 12 months removed from the heartbreak of his final defeat, Sinner returns to Beijing with new motivation — and under new circumstances. The 24-year-old will compete for the first time since his 65-week reign as World No. 1 ended after the US Open final, when he ceded top spot to Alcaraz.
Sinner boasts a sparkling 9-1 record at the China Open, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index, a testament to his comfort on Beijing’s hard courts. With a second title, he would join record six-time champion Novak Djokovic and two-time winner Rafael Nadal as the only men to win multiple crowns at the event.
Yet the road to redemption remains daunting. This year’s draw includes fellow Top 10 stars Alexander Zverev, Alex de Minaur and Lorenzo Musetti.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Lorenzo Musetti was forced to navigate a testing return to the Chengdu Open on Saturday, but the top seed and defending finalist showed his grit and flair to keep his title hopes alive.
In his first outing since his run to the US Open quarter-finals two-and-a-half weeks ago, Musetti overcame spirited #NextGenATP talent Dino Prizmic 7-5, 3-6, 6-2 in two hours, 16 minutes at the Chinese ATP 250 event. Prizmic matched Musetti’s 27 winners with his fearless shotmaking, but the Italian found an extra gear in the deciding set to accelerate to victory.
Musetti mania 🤩@ChengduOpen | #ChengduOpen | @Lorenzo1Musetti pic.twitter.com/exO9hPOBAr
— ATP Tour (@atptour) September 20, 2025
“Today I started with a little bit of tension, but it’s pretty normal, it’s my first match in more than two weeks,” Musetti said. “The first match in China is always tough… Different conditions from last year, and of course the opponent: He was playing really solid, so I had to find my way and in the third set I started to play better and take the lead of the game.”
Fourth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah, Prizmic was competing in Chengdu through the Next Gen Accelerator, which offers players aged 20 and under increased opportunity to compete on the ATP Tour.
Musetti, who is aiming to make his debut at the Nitto ATP Finals this year, is eighth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, now just 25 points behind Alex de Minaur in seventh. Into his third quarter-final in Chengdu, the 23-year-old Italian will next face qualifier Nikoloz Basilashvili.
Having improved to a 6-2 tournament record, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index, Musetti tied Grigor Dimitrov for the most quarter-finals (3) and Shang Juncheng for the most wins (6) in event history. He made the final last year as the top seed, but fell to Shang in straight sets.
“Even before starting the tournament, I said that my goal is to take revenge from last year,” Musetti said. “It was a great run for me, but hopefully this year will go even better, and this is a nice start.”
Watch Extended Highlights from Saturday in Chengdu:
Musetti’s quarter-final opponent Basilashvili continued his run from qualifying with a 6-2, 7-6(4) victory over Mackenzie McDonald — his first Lexus ATP Head2Head win over the American in his fourth attempt (1-3).
Fellow qualifier Taro Daniel also advanced on Saturday by upsetting third seed Tallon Griekspoor 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 and reaching his first ATP Tour quarter-final since Auckland in January last year. The Japanese will face Chengdu debutant Alexander Shevchenko, who rallied past sixth seed Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard 6-7(2), 7-6(5), 6-4 in the final match of the day.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Carlos Alcaraz helps Team Europe race to a 3-1 lead over Team World on day one of the Laver Cup.
Daniil Medvedev made a smooth start to a new era in his career Saturday at the Lynk & Co Hangzhou Open.
Competing for the first time since splitting with his coach of eight years, Gilles Cervara, the former No. 1 player in the PIF ATP Rankings dispatched Nishesh Basavareddy 6-2, 6-3 on debut at the Chinese ATP 250. Medvedev, who has been working with Thomas Johansson and Rohan Goetzke since his dramatic first-round US Open loss to Benjamin Bonzi last month, returned to action in style with a clinical performance against #NextGenATP qualifier Basavareddy.
👋 @DaniilMedwed 👋
[2] Medvedev blazes past Basavareddy 6-2 6-3@HangzhouOpen | #HangzhouOpen pic.twitter.com/aLBKBbCgGP— ATP Tour (@atptour) September 20, 2025
“It was a great match for me. I’m happy with the way I played, with the way I served,” said Medvedev in his on-court interview. “I’m happy to win of course. I have not been winning a lot of matches, so I’m happy to win. I really like the city, I’ve enjoyed it here, so I’m happy to stay for a couple more days.”
Medvedev won nine consecutive games from 2-2 in the first set to take complete control of his maiden Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting with Basavareddy. Despite being broken for the only time in the match when serving at 5-1 in the second set, he soon wrapped a victory in which he converted four of eight break points he earned, according to Infosys ATP Stats.
With his 76-minute win, Medvedev improved to 27-18 for the 2025 season. The 29-year-old, who is competing this week as the World No. 18, has struggled for his best level this year. He won just one match across the four majors, and it was his defeat to Bonzi at the US Open that proved the catalyst for his split with Cervara.
After launching his stint working with Johansson and Goetzke, which he earlier this week described as ‘an interesting new project’, with a comfortable triumph against Basavareddy, Medvedev will next aim to book a semi-final spot in Hangzhou when he faces hometown favourite Wu Yibing or Sebastian Korda.
In other early Saturday action, Learner Tien advanced to the last eight with a 6-4, 6-3 victory against Giulio Zeppieri. The #NextGenATP American, who is currently third in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah, will next play top seed Andrey Rublev or qualifier Valentin Royer.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Joao Fonseca put Team World on the board at the 2025 Laver Cup with a stylish debut victory before the doubles duo of Carlos Alcaraz and Jakub Mensik staked Team Europe a 3-1 lead after Friday’s play in San Francisco.
The youngest player to compete at Laver Cup at age 19, Fonseca stormed back from 2-4 in the opening set against Flavio Cobolli, rattling off five games in a row and seven out of eight to take control of the singles showdown. After the #NextGenATP Brazilian’s 6-4, 6-3 victory breathed life into Team World, Alcaraz and Mensik clawed back the momentum for the Europeans with a 7-6(7), 6-4 victory against Taylor Fritz and Alex Michelsen. It was Alcaraz’s first competitive action since he won the US Open title and reclaimed the No. 1 PIF ATP Ranking.
Team World was staring down a potential 0-3 deficit before Fonseca fired up his team and the San Francisco crowd with an electric display of power and shotmaking that left Cobolli without answers, even with Roger Federer cheering him on from the stands.
“I think my team helped me a lot, to stay positive during the match,” said Fonseca, who was born 12 days before new Team World captain Andre Agassi retired at the 2006 US Open. “I was a little bit more nervous than usual. It’s normal. And then after I started talking a little bit more with Andre and the team… I was playing good in the beginning, but I was still a little bit nervous and making a lot of mistakes, but after I got through so I’m very happy with that.”
The crowd sang Fonseca’s name throughout the match, and his captain and teammates joined in on the fun in celebration following the much-needed victory.
Alcaraz and Mensik cut the home team’s party short with a clinical doubles display in which they did not face a break point, according to Infosys ATP Stats. But the Spanish-Czech duo did have to save a set point, on return at 5/6 in the first-set tie-break. The lone break of the match came in its final game, when Fritz was unable to extend the entertaining match.
“I think doubles, it gives you more opportunities to make great shots, great volleys,” said Alcaraz, whose showmanship was on full display. “But doubles is not just about one player. You have to team up with a great player like I did today with Jakub. Thanks to him with his great shots, great skills on the volleys as well, he made me feel comfortable on the court.”
Mensik, who also beat Michelsen in singles earlier on Friday, completed a perfect Laver Cup debut by winning both of his matches on Day 1. The action continues in San Francisco on Saturday, beginning at 1 p.m. local time.
Since the start of Laver Cup in 2017, no team has come back from 3-1 down to win.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Casper Ruud and Jakub Mensik powered Team Europe to a 2-0 lead at the Laver Cup on Friday, albeit in contrasting styles.
The Norwegian set the tone with a 6-4, 7-6(4) win over big-serving American Reilly Opelka, delivering a dominant serving performance of his own, while Mensik fought off Alex Michelsen 6-1, 6-7(3), 10-8.
Ruud, who revealed that he is debuting a slightly smaller racquet head, was ultra consistent behind his delivery. He won 88 per cent of his first-serve points (45/51) and erased both break points he faced, according to Infosys ATP Stats. Opelka won just 16 per cent of his return points, compared to Ruud’s 28 per cent.
“The [goal was] to be in the zone, make a lot of balls, make him play and get Europe off to a good start,” said Ruud in his on-court interview. “Really happy with the match. I was in the same position last year and lost the opening match, so it’s good to get some revenge and begin strong for Europe.”
Mensik survived a late scare against Team World’s Michelsen. Serving for the match at 6-1, 5-3, Mensik lost serve and needed to complete his victory in a Match Tie-break.
Both players raised their level as the match wore on, but the Czech quickly jumped to a 4/0 lead in the Match Tie-break to deflate the American’s hopes of levelling with Team Europe. Michelsen displayed his competitive spirit to pull within one at 7/8. Mensik converted his first match point with a booming serve on the Ad side to Michelsen’s backhand, which missed long.
“Great match,” Mensik said. “We’ve known each other since juniors, so we knew a lot about ourselves on the court. With this format, with the Match Tie-break in the third, it’s always tough for your nerves, but I’m happy that I stayed focused until the end and I kept fighting. I’m glad that I helped my team take a point.”
Friday’s evening session will feature Flavio Cobolli versus Joao Fonseca. Then, Carlos Alcaraz and Mensik partner against Taylor Fritz and Michelsen.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Stan Wawrinka is seeking ATP Challenger Tour history this weekend. The 40-year-old, into the semi-finals at the Saint-Tropez Open, is aiming to become the oldest Challenger champion in history.
Wawrinka, former No. 3 in the PIF ATP Rankings, finished runner-up at last week’s Rennes Challenger and in Aix-en-Provence in May. Should the Swiss go one step further and claim the Saint-Tropez title, he would pass Ivo Karlovic to become the oldest Challenger titlist. Karlovic won the 2018 Calgary Challenger at 39 years, four months.
Seeded fifth, Wawrinka faces Dan Added in the second match from 2 p.m. CEST / 8 a.m. ET Saturday. Fans can watch for free on Challenger TV. The stream can also be seen below. Wawrinka beat Added last week in the Rennes second round.
Watch Stan Wawrinka vs. Dan Added live on Challenger TV Saturday:
Denis Shapovalov and Mirjam Bjorklund tied the knot earlier this month, the couple announced on social media Friday, sharing stunning photos from their ceremony. The Canadian and Bjorklund married on 9 September at Lesante Cape in Zakynthos, Greece.
“It was really so special,” Shapovalov told ATPTour.com. “Every day we had in Zakynthos with our close friends and family was better than we could have ever asked for and I’m so excited I got to marry my best friend in such an incredible setting.”
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The couple began dating in 2019 and Shapovalov proposed to Bjorklund in July 2023. Their wedding ceremony overlooked the Ionian Sea, providing a breathtaking backdrop.
“It was truly as amazing as we envisioned when we chose Lesante Cape for our wedding venue,” said Bjorklund, now Mirjam Shapovalova. “The weather was incredible and every moment was picture-perfect. It was the most beautiful start to our marriage and we are so excited to spend forever with each other.”
Shapovalov, No. 26 in the PIF ATP Rankings, boasts a 21-17 season record, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index. He won his biggest career title in February at the ATP 500 in Dallas. The 26-year-old captured an ATP 250 trophy in Los Cabos in July without dropping a set.
Photo Credit belongs to: Karin Lundin @karinlundinstudio
Holders Italy reach third consecutive final with 2-1 victory over Ukraine in the Billie Jean King Cup.