Scouting Report: Alcaraz, Fritz lead Tokyo; Sinner, Zverev headline Beijing
Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner are among the sport’s biggest stars who are in action this week.
The Spaniard leads the field at the Kinoshita Group Japan Open Tennis Championships, where Taylor Fritz is seeded second in Tokyo. Sinner returns to the China Open in Beijing, where five Top-10 players are set to compete, including Alexander Zverev.
The two ATP 500 events also serve as a pivotal period for Nitto ATP Finals hopefuls seeking to amass as many PIF ATP Ranking points as possible, with aspirations of qualifying for the season finale in Turin.
ATPTour.com looks at five things to watch at each event:
FIVE THINGS TO WATCH IN TOKYO:
1) Alcaraz makes event debut: Tokyo, the longest-running ATP Tour tournament in Asia, will welcome the World No. 1 Alcaraz for the first time. The winner of seven titles this year, Alcaraz boasts a season-leading 61-6 season record, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index. He will look to strengthen his claim as World No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings, a position he reclaimed following his US Open triumph.
2) Former champ Fritz: The American holds fond memories in Tokyo, where in 2022 he secured his Top 10 debut following a title run in Japan’s capital city. Now World No. 5, Fritz is bidding for his third title of 2025 (Stuttgart, Eastbourne), which would match his career-best title haul in a year, tying his 2022 season.
3) Turin outsiders: With less than two months until the Nitto ATP Finals, every week is extraordinarily crucial for those outside the top eight in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin vying for a spot at the prestigious tournament. For 13th-placed Casper Ruud and 15th-placed Holger Rune, their showings at the ATP 500 could help them in their pursuit of qualification for the year-end event.
4) Remaining seeds aiming to add to title count: Tomas Machac, Ugo Humbert, Denis Shapovalov and Frances Tiafoe round out the seeds fifth through eighth, respectively. Each of those players, besides Tiafoe, have won at least one title this season and seek to add to their trophy cabinet in Tokyo. Shapovalov, who won the ATP 500 in Dallas and Acapulco, is competing for the first time since marrying longtime partner Mirjam Bjorklund.
5) Top seeds Harrison/King seek third ATP 500 crown this year: At eighth in the PIF Live Doubles Race To Turin, Christian Harrison and Evan King are seeking a spot at the Nitto ATP Finals, a prize that would reward their dream season. At the ATP 500s in Dallas and Acapulco, the Americans advanced through qualifying en route to lifting the trophy. But gone is the role of underdog, Harrison and King are the Tokyo top seeds.
FIVE THINGS TO WATCH IN BEIJING:
1) Sinner returns, seeking third title of 2025: In action for the first time since his runner-up finish at the US Open, Sinner is back in Beijing for the third consecutive year, amassing a 9-1 record in his previous two outings. Last year, the Italian narrowly fell to rival Alcaraz in one of the most memorable matches of the 2024 season. Sinner will aim to go one step further and return to the winner’s circle, which he reached in 2023.
2) Three-time semi-finalist Zverev: The German is making his sixth appearance in Beijing and just his second since 2020. Zverev has routinely gone deep in those outings, including three semi-final runs. The second seed leads Sinner 4-3 in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series and could have another showdown with the Italian in the championship match.
3) Top 10 stars: The Beijing field is stacked with five Top-10 players, including Sinner, Zverev, Alex de Minaur, Lorenzo Musetti and Karen Khachanov. De Minaur was a quarter-finalist at the season’s final major. Musetti arrives after a strong start to the Asian hard-court swing in Chengdu. Khachanov, No. 10 in the PIF ATP Rankings, is closing in on tying his career-high No. 8, which he reached in July 2019.
4) Fan favourites Rublev, Medvedev and Bublik: Andrey Rublev and Daniil Medvedev are among the seeded players at the ATP 500. Rublev, a two-time quarter-finalist in Beijing, won an ATP 500 hard-court title earlier this year in Doha. Medvedev reached the Beijing final in 2023 and semi-finals last year. Ahead of Hangzhou, Medvedev shared that he is working with a new team, consisting of Thomas Johansson and Rohan Goetzke. Alexander Bublik is also in Beijing. The Kazakh has been one of the most in-form players the past three months, arriving in Beijing following his Hangzhou run.
5) Turin-bound doubles teams: The doubles draw in Beijing features a handful of must-watch pairings. Wimbledon champions Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool, who have won six titles together this year and have qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals, lead the field. Marcelo Arevalo and Mate Pavic have also qualified for Turin and will be in action in Beijing. Several singles stars are in the field, including Rublev partnering Khachanov, De Minaur teaming Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, Musetti, Bublik and more.
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