Since the introduction of the China Open in 2004, Beijing and Tokyo’s Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships – both ATP World Tour 500 tournaments – have regularly attracted the biggest names on the ATP World Tour.

Each of the China Open’s previous 14 champions have featured inside the Top 10 of the ATP Rankings and reached a Grand Slam final. Tokyo has also been blessed with consistent success by its top attendees, with Roger Federer’s triumph in 2006 marking the first of ten consecutive editions to be won by a player who has achieved a Top 5 career-high ATP Ranking.

With a rich blend of tradition, culture and modern innovation, the capitals of China and Japan have consistently proven to be popular destinations for players as the season looks ahead to the season-ending Nitto ATP Finals in November. With 500 points on offer to the tournament champion, both Beijing and Tokyo provide huge opportunities for those yet to qualify, or those looking to boost their chances of finishing the season as the year-end World No. 1, to make a move up the ATP Race To London standings.

PAST TEN CHAMPIONS IN BEIJING AND TOKYO

Not only has it proven tough for players to finish these events with the champions trophy, reaching the final itself has been a unenviable task for many. Of the 20 men to finish runner-up at the two events over the past decade, 16 have featured inside the Top 10 of the ATP Rankings throughout their careers so far. This season, US Open finalist Juan Martin del Potro and World No. 5 Alexander Zverev lead the way in Beijing, with No. 6-ranked Marin Cilic and World No. 9 Kevin Anderson occupying the top two seeding positions in Tokyo.

Seven members of the Top 20 will be in attendance at The Beijing Olympic Green Tennis Center, with four of the nine ATP World Tour 500 series champions this year all keen to add a second trophy at the level to their 2018 resume. Dubai champion Roberto Bautista Agut and Washington, D.C. titlist Zverev will clash in the first round, with Halle winner Borna Coric and Hamburg champion also featuring in the 32-man draw.

Six Top 20 stars will appear in a Tokyo field which also includes four of the Top 5-placed players in the ATP Race To Milan. Stefanos Tsitispas, Denis Shapovalov, Alex de Minaur and Frances Tiafoe will all enter the event determined to add more points to their names as they bid to solidify their positions ahead of the Next Gen ATP Finals; an added dynamic to an already invaluable week in the Asian Swing.

In 2016, it was Taylor Fritz. Last year, it was Frances Tiafoe. Now, a third member of the American #NextGenATP contingent has cracked the Top 100. Welcome to the club, Michael Mmoh!

On Sunday, the 20-year-old ascended to a career-high No. 96 in the ATP Rankings after taking back-to-back ATP Challenger Tour titles in Columbus and Tiburon. A 6-3, 7-5 victory over Marcel Granollers in the final of the Wells Fargo Tiburon Challenger sealed his fate, as Mmoh celebrated the biggest title of his young career.

The Florida resident finishes the month of September with an 11-1 record, scoring impressive wins over Granollers, Jordan Thompson, Ernesto Escobedo, James Duckworth and Christopher Eubanks, among many. Two years after finishing runner-up in Tiburon, he finally has his trophy at the $100,000 event.

Mmoh also moves up two spots in the ATP Race To Milan, rising to ninth place. Just two weeks ago, the 20-year-old was at No. 15 in his quest to qualify for the Next Gen ATP Finals. With Fritz and Tiafoe already in prime position to punch their tickets to the Fiera Milano, their countryman will be looking to make it an American trio at the tournament’s second edition.

Back to back! @MichaelMmoh takes the title @TiburonChallngr , d. Marcel Granollers 63 75 for his second straight ?.

Champion in Columbus, champion in Tiburon. Welcome to the Top 100. pic.twitter.com/P2i3UggyEx

— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) October 1, 2018

First of all, congratulations Michael. Top 100. What does that mean to you, in terms of this journey you’ve been on?
It’s huge. It’s something I’ve been eyeing ever since I started playing professional tennis. Honestly, ever since I started playing tennis in general. You always aspire to be a Top 100 player. It’s the No. 1 goal when you’re starting out as a professional. You’re in a special area to be there. I’ve put in a lot of hard work and I’m really happy to win back-to-back Challengers as well. It’s something I wasn’t expecting from myself.

Let’s talk about these two weeks. Columbus was indoors and it’s weird to have an indoor event between two outdoor tournaments. Compare the court speed and bounces from last week to this week in Tiburon.
That’s one of the reasons I wasn’t expecting to go back-to-back, because I’m going from an indoor event to one where it’s windy and super cold. In Columbus, it was actually pretty humid in the indoor courts. You’re drenched after a match there and you come here and it’s super cold and slow with low bounces. You have one day to prepare and you’re traveling from the east time zone to the west. Plus, I played Darian King, a guy I’ve lost to twice before and then Tommy Paul in the quarters. It’s tough. Those are really good players and to adjust on the fly and be mentally tough, I’m proud of myself for that.

You’ve given a lot of credit to Alexander Waske, your new coach. In terms of personality, Alex is very different from Glenn Weiner, your former coach. Compare and contrast the two.
They are completely different. It’s black and white. Alex is a very different person from Glenn, but I think that helps in a way. It’s almost like a spark, a big change. Glenn was unbelievable. He was a father figure to me. We spent so much time together. Four years. He’s taught me so much, on the court and off the court. He’s always been a big part of my life. To have a guy like that in your corner is huge. Alexander has been helping me a ton too. I feel like he’s taken my game to the next level. But definitely, you couldn’t find two more different guys.

How much has the focus for you guys been mental side versus tactical side?
It’s definitely been a lot of tactical changes. Mental as well, but Alex is a very intense guy, so just his presence alone brings a lot of competitiveness and intensity to my game. That helps a lot, but the main change has been tactical. He’s implemented a lot of plays in my game that have probably been my most successful shots these past two weeks. He’s given me a better understanding of how to use my strengths.

During your match today against Marcel Granollers, I was thinking back to your final here two years ago against Darian King. That is, where you were then versus where you are now. There was a lot of athleticism to make balls, but there wasn’t much intent with what you were doing. How do you view yourself now, compared to two years ago in this final?
I’m the same person, but definitely a completely different player. I was very composed today. If it was 2016 and I played a guy like Granollers, he would have been tougher than me mentally and I wouldn’t have been able to compete with him. I wasn’t that tough then, but now I went toe-to-toe with him mentally. I came in and even though I missed a couple volleys, I kept coming forward. That’s the reason why I got the break in the second set. I came in at 15/30 and finished the volley. Back in the day, I didn’t really do that. I waited for the guy to make mistakes and I relied on being an athlete and making a lot of balls. I still have that, but now I’ve added a new layer.

What does this mean for the last few months of the year for you? You will obviously get into Grand Slams no problem. That’s huge, but it also allows you to get into a few more [ATP World Tour] 250s that you maybe hadn’t planned on. Maybe you play qualies of a 500. How do you structure the last few months of your season, so you take advantage of that? 
Right after the US Open, I was talking with my team and we didn’t want to play Challengers for the rest of the year. But I think it’s perfect now. I’ve won a ton of matches and I’m confident. I’m going to take that to the tour-level and I’ll probably play Stockholm and Vienna and try to get into Paris. I’m really excited and I’m playing well and beating a lot of good players. If I can take that to the next level, it will be exciting. 

And of course the Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan. That must be on your mind as well.
Yeah, for sure. Munar has a lot of points, so it’s going to be tough to catch up to him. But you never know. The way I’m playing, if I can take that level to the ATP World Tour, you never know. You can get a lot of points there as well.

You look on social media and there’s Frances Tiafoe and Taylor Fritz celebrating your titles out here. It has to be a great motivation to see where they’re at and know that you’re just a little step behind.
It’s super cool. Those are my buddies. I love those guys. When they’re doing well and they’re doing their thing, it motivates me. It motivates all of us: Me, Reilly, Tommy too. We’re a really close group and I’m excited for the future.

Juan Martin del Potro, who competes as the top seed at this week’s China Open in Beijing, has his sights set on finishing the year at his highest position in the ATP Rankings.

“It could be one of my best seasons of my career,” said World No. 3 Del Potro on Sunday. “I won my first [ATP World Tour] Masters 1000 title in Indian Wells [the BNP Paribas Open], then I got my highest ranking ever this season.

“I played another Grand Slam final for the first time in nine years and I’ve still got the chance to finish the year at my highest ranking. It’s been an amazing year for me. I want to keep going, because I like to surprise myself. I’m excited for that.”

The Argentinean will be competing in both singles and doubles (w/Leonardo Mayer) during the ATP World Tour 500 tournament in Beijing, which marks his first event since reaching the US Open final (l. to Djokovic) on 9 September.

Del Potro is currently in third position in the ATP Race To London and is next in line to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals in November. Del Potro has not competed at The O2, venue of the 11-18 November season finale, since 2013. Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer have already qualified.

“I was exhausted after my big effort in New York,” explained Del Potro, who has a 43-11 match record in 2018. “But I went at home and spent time with my family and friends. I trained hard to be ready for this tournament. Also, I am fighting for the last five spots in London, so it could be an interesting battle between us.”

Del Potro will begin his Beijing campaign against Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas, with a potential second-round clash against Karen Khachanov of Russia or American Sam Querrey.

View Beijing Draws: Singles | Doubles

Nitto ATP Finals contenders Juan Martin del Potro, Alexander Zverev, Marin Cilic, Kevin Anderson and Kei Nishikori, who are all among the Top 10 in the ATP Race To London, feature at ATP World Tour 500 tournaments this week – the China Open in Beijing or the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships 2018.

Last year’s finalist Grigor Dimitrov and Chengdu Open runner-up Fabio Fognini will be among the contenders challenging Del Potro and Zverev for the Beijing crown. Diego Schwartzman, Stefanos Tsitsipas and three-time runner-up Milos Raonic compete at the Musashino Forest Sport Plaza, while the traditional venue, the Ariake Colosseum, is being renovated as part of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

View Draws: Beijing | Tokyo

10 THINGS TO WATCH IN BEIJING
1) 500 Club: The capital cities of China and Japan are hosting ATP World Tour 500 events this week. At the China Open, Nitto ATP Finals contenders Juan Martin del Potro, Alexander Zverev and Fabio Fognini play for valuable points alongside Next Gen ATP Finals contender Andrey Rublev.

2) Delpo Delivers: Del Potro is playing for the first time since his historic run to the US Open final. En route, the Argentine earned his 10th win over a World No. 1 — most among players never ranked No. 1 themselves. Del Potro also set a pair of all-time records by reaching his second major final 21 Grand Slam appearances and 35 Grand Slam tournaments after his first at the 2009 US Open.

3) All Eyes on London: Del Potro is third and Zverev is fifth in the ATP Race to London, which means that both would qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals if the season ended today. Zverev is looking to lift the 10th title of his career. The German has until 20 April 2019 to join the likes of Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray among the players to win 10 championships before turning 22.

4) Danger Zone: Reigning Nitto ATP Finals champion and 2016 Beijing finalist Grigor Dimitrov is 17th in the ATP Race to London as of 24 September. With 3,250 points still on the line in 2018, Dimitrov needs a late-season surge to qualify and defend his title at the year-end championships.

5) Career Year: Fognini returned to a career-high No. 13 in the ATP Rankings on 10 September. He is the third Italian on record to win three titles in a season and finished runner-up at Chengdu Open to Bernard Tomic on Sunday. The top Italian is the reigning Sao Paulo, Bastad and Los Cabos champion.

6) On the Edge: Rublev was the top seed and runner-up at the inaugural Next Gen ATP Finals in 2017. At the moment, he is seventh in the ATP Race to Milan with a 54-point lead on Jaume Munar of Spain. Rublev has lost six straight matches since reaching the Washington semi-finals.

7) Socks Don’t Match: Jack Sock is 6-16 with one quarter-final in singles and 32-10 with five titles in doubles this season. By year’s end, Sock will defend 1,545 of his 1,850 singles ranking points. As of 24 September, the American is 17th in the ATP Rankings and 160th in the ATP Race to London.

8) One Year Later: Wu Yibing will make his China Open debut as a wild card this week after sweeping the US Open boys’ singles and doubles titles in 2017. Still only 18 years old, Wu broke into the Top 300 of the ATP Rankings on 10 September. He is 0-4 in ATP World Tour matches.

9) The Champ is Here: Wild card Marcos Baghdatis is the only former champion in the China Open field. The Cypriot defeated Mario Ancic for the first of his four ATP World Tour championships at 2006 Beijing. Baghdatis has not played in Beijing or won a tour-level title since the 2010 season.

10) Doubles Race: Six of the Top 14 teams in the ATP Doubles Race to London are on the advance entry list for Beijing, highlighted by the top-ranked tandem of Oliver Marach and Mate Pavic. The Austrian and Croat have qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals, but are just 1-5 in their last six matches.

10 THINGS TO WATCH IN TOKYO
1) 500 Club: The capital cities of Tokyo and Beijing are hosting ATP World Tour 500 events this week. At the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships 2018, two-time champion Kei Nishikori continues his push towards the Nitto ATP Finals alongside fellow ATP Race to London contenders Marin Cilic and Kevin Anderson. Four of the Top 5 #NextGenATP players in the ATP Race to Milan are also playing in Tokyo.

2) Title Drought: Nishikori has won six of his 11 ATP World Tour titles at the 500-level, highlighted by Tokyo in 2012 and 2014. However, the highest-ranked Asian player in ATP history has played 46 tour-level events since his most recent title at 2016 Memphis. Nishikori, the former World No. 4, is 0-7 in his past seven finals, with losses at three ATP Masters 1000s and two ATP World Tour 500s.

3) Belated Birthday: Cilic, a two-time Tokyo semi-finalist, turned 30 on 28 September. His birthday means that no Grand Slam men’s singles champions are currently under the age of 30. Nishikori, who lost to Cilic in the 2014 US Open final, is one of three twenty-something Grand Slam runners-up along with Milos Raonic (2016 Wimbledon) and Dominic Thiem (2018 Roland Garros).

4) On the Edge: Anderson is eighth in the ATP Race to London and would occupy the last spot at the Nitto ATP Finals if the season ended today. The Wimbledon finalist leads No. 9 John Isner by 520 points and No. 10 Nishikori by 885 points with a maximum of 3,250 points still on the line in 2018.

5) Tight Race: Fewer than 1,000 points separate Nos. 2-5 in the ATP Race to Milan. Tokyo players Stefanos Tsitsipas, Denis Shapovalov, Alex de Minaur and Frances Tiafoe are all on pace to qualify for the Next Gen ATP Finals. Of the four, only Shapovalov competed at the inaugural event.

6) Greece Lightning: Tsitsipas broke into the Top 15 in August following a fourth-round run at Wimbledon and four Top 10 wins en route to the Rogers Cup final in Toronto. He is the first Greek to be ranked that high, reach the Round of 16 at a Grand Slam and play for an ATP Masters 1000 championship.

7) Trailblazers: Shapovalov became the youngest semi-finalist in ATP Masters 1000 Madrid history, Tiafoe won the Delray Beach Open title to become the youngest American champion since 2002 and De Minaur achieved a new career-high ranking 16 times in eight months, rising from No. 208 to No. 38.

8) Curious Kyrgios: Nick Kyrgios won the biggest of his four ATP World Tour titles at 2016 Tokyo. The Aussie opted to play Beijing instead in 2017, losing in the final to Rafael Nadal. Kyrgios returns to Tokyo as the 2016 champion.

9) Wawrinka Rising: Like Kyrgios, Stan Wawrinka is back in Tokyo for the first time since winning the title. The 2015 champion withdrew in 2016 due to a back injury and did not play in 2017 after two left knee surgeries. Wawrinka has risen from No. 263 on 11 June to No. 75 on 24 September.

10) Local Flavour: For the fifth straight year, all three Tokyo wild cards are Japanese. In 2018, they are Istanbul champion Taro Daniel, Shenzhen Open titlist Yoshihito Nishioka and Yuichi Sugita.

Yoshihito Nishioka became the sixth qualifier to win a tour-level title this season at the Shenzhen Open, beating Pierre-Hugues Herbert 7-5, 2-6, 6-4 on Sunday.

The 23-year-old, appearing in his first ATP World Tour final, won 61 per cent of second-serve return points and withstood 12 aces from Herbert to lift his first tour-level trophy after two hours and 20 minutes. Nishioka, who tore his left ACL just 18 months ago at the 2017 Miami Open presented by Itaú, dropped seven straight games after leading 7-5, 2-0, but recovered well to record the biggest win of his career.

After Herbert’s strong fightback in the second set, both men were forced to work hard in their opening service games of the decider to remain level in the score. But Nishioka soon found a breakthrough in the fifth game. The qualifier opened up a 0/40 lead with strong play from the baseline, before earning the break with another aggressive backhand, forcing an error from Herbert at the net.

Three championship-point opportunities passed Nishioka by on Herbert’s serve at 5-3, but the Japanese qualifier did not falter on his own serve. Nishioka fell to the ground, after converting his fifth championship point, following Herbert’s netted forehand return.

Herbert was also bidding to lift his first tour-level singles title after a runner-up finish in his only previous championship match at the 2015 Winston-Salem Open. The 27-year-old has won 23 of 41 matches at tour-level this year.

Nishioka receives 250 ATP Ranking points and collects $130,885 in prize money for lifting the trophy. Herbert earns 150 ATP Ranking points and $68,930.