Russian #NextGen star Karen Khachanov and 17-year-old Norwegian Casper Ruud, in China for the Chengdu Open, visited one of Chengdu’s unique attractions, Kuanzhai Alley, which translates as Wide and Narrow Alley, on Monday.

Located in one of the oldest parts of Chengdu, dating back to the Qing Dynasty, Kuanzhai Alley offers a unique glimpse into the architecture at the time. The players tried some of the city’s most popular snacks, while being entertained by a traditionally attired Sichuan opera performer.

“The culture is here is very unusual and it is very interesting to see,” said Khachanov. “I’m very excited to be here. I like it.”

“The architecture here is very nice and very different from anywhere else,” said Ruud. “It’s nice.”

Tea For Two In Chengdu

On Sunday morning, ATP World Tour players Kevin Anderson of South Africa and John Millman of Australia also took time to experience the Chengdu culture. The two visited the historic Wenshu Monastery, located in the centre of Chengdu city.

They received a crash course in the art of “Chang Zui Hu”, the ancient Chengdu practice of pouring tea out through an extremely long spout. Combining martial arts with technical ability, this unique practice was created as a form of entertainment in local tea houses many hundreds of years ago. “It was really cool,” said Anderson. “Just the whole architecture and this whole place is incredible.”

“I enjoyed it. It’s pretty special to be able to experience the cultures of such an old country like China,” said Millman. “It was a lot of fun. It was something different. I’m always up for new, exciting experiences.”

This is the first year of the Chengdu Open, an ATP World Tour 250 level tournament.

Former World No. 10 Juan Monaco required 66 minutes to beat qualifier Hiroki Moriya 6-1, 6-2 on Monday at the Chengdu Open. Monaco will next face fourth seed Feliciano Lopez, whom he beat in the Houston semi-finals en route to his ninth ATP World Tour title (d. Sock) in April.

Diego Schwartzman, who lifted his first ATP World Tour trophy in Istanbul (d. Dimitrov) earlier this year, knocked out Rajeev Ram 6-4, 7-5 in 87 minutes. He awaits the winner of eighth seed Paolo Lorenzi or John Millman. “The first match is always tough for the players,” said Schwarztman. “I feel great, so it’s good to win… I try to improve every week.”

In doubles, fourth seeds Pablo Carreno Busta and Mariusz Fyrstenberg defeated wild card Yan Bai and Di Wu 6-2, 6-7(2), 10-6 in 89 minutes, while Nicholas Monroe and Artem Sitak lost just seven of their first service points in a 6-3, 1-6, 10-4 victory over Federico Delbonis and Paolo Lorenzi in 63 minutes.

Fabio Fognini recorded his 20th match win of the season on Monday when the seventh seed defeated Dudi Sela 6-4, 6-1 in 78 minutes on his debut at the Shenzhen Open. He’ll next face qualifier Mischa Zverev who struck eight aces and won 96 per cent of his first service points to oust wild card Zhe Li. Zverev leads Fognini 2-1 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series.

Andrew Whittington saved four match points in the second set tie-break to force a third set and beat fellow qualifier Luca Vanni 2-6, 7-6(10), 6-2 in two hours and 20 minutes. The 23-year-old Australian, making his ATP World Tour main draw debut, will next face third seed Richard Gasquet in the second round.

In doubles, Jonathan Erlich and Santiago Gonzalez saved one match point at 8/9 in the Match Tie-break to knock out Lukas Rosol and Jiri Vesely 6-7(5), 6-2, 11-9 in one hour and 46 minutes.

DAY 2 PREVIEW: The No. 1 Chinese player in the Emirates ATP Rankings comes home on Tuesday for his first ATP World Tour match of 2016. Ze Zhang is 4-0 on tour this season, with all four wins coming in Davis Cup Group I. The 26 year old from Nanjing is in a unique position against Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia, whom he defeated at a Challenger event in Chengdu last month. For just the second time in 20 ATP and Grand Slam main draw matches, Zhang is ranked higher than his opponent. Tipsarevic, a former World No. 8, is 45 spots below Zhang at No. 224 after missing seven of the past 12 months with foot and knee injuries.

Also in first-round action on Centre Court is No. 6 seed Benoit Paire. The Frenchman enjoyed a breakout season in 2015, winning five titles in eight finals across the ATP World Tour, ATP Challenger Tour and ITF Futures Circuit. Playing exclusively at tour-level events in 2016, Paire has yet to reach a final and fallen from a career-high No. 18 on 11 January to No. 38 this week. Paire has suffered five losses this season to players ranked outside of the Top 100. His opponent on Tuesday is 103rd-ranked Nikoloz Basilashvili.

Play begins on Centre Court with 2015 Shenzhen Open runner-up Guillermo Garcia-Lopez taking on American qualifier Ryan Harrison. Garcia-Lopez has not reached a singles final since falling to Tomas Berdych here last year, but he did play in back-to-back doubles finals earlier this season. He won the Winston-Salem Open title with Henri Kontinen and fell in the US Open final with fellow Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta.

Among the players competing on the outer courts are Pablo Andujar of Spain and 19 year old Akira Santillan of Japan. Andujar is appearing at his first ATP event since undergoing right elbow surgery on 17 March, while Santillan will be playing the second tour-level match of his career. The wild card fell to Jan-Lennard Struff at Kitzbuhel on 19 July. In doubles, No. 1 seeds Treat Huey and Max Mirnyi continue their quest for qualification at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals against Fognini and Robert Lindstedt.

The St. Petersburg Open was honoured Sunday as one the Tournaments of the Year in the 2015 ATP World Tour Awards presented by Moët & Chandon. World No. 3 and top seed Stan Wawrinka, who finished runner-up to Alexander Zverev in the St. Petersburg final, presented Tournament Director Alexander Medvedev with the trophy.

“In 2015, the St. Petersburg Open Tournament was revived after a year’s break,” Mikhael Mirilashvili, owner of the St. Petersburg Open, said earlier this year. “That was a landmark event in the sporting life of the city and the country. We are proud that the work of our big renewed team was appreciated on such a high level. I am sure that in the future the level of the tournament will continue to grow and reach new professional heights.” 

The Tournament of the Year awards, voted annually by ATP players, recognise the leading standards set across the three tournament categories on the Tour.

The St. Petersburg Open was named a joint-winner in the ATP World Tour 250 category alongside the Qatar ExxonMobil Open, held in the first week of the season. The BNP Paribas Open and Aegon Championships won respectively in the Masters 1000 and 500 categories.

That did not take long. #NextGen star Hyeon Chung is back with a vengeance after missing four months with an abdominal injury. A week after reaching the final in Nanchang, China, the 20 year old lifted his fifth ATP Challenger Tour title on Sunday with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Duckhee Lee at the OEC Kaohsiung Challenger in Kaohsiung, Taiwan.

Despite lasting just 75 minutes, the final was highly significant for both the growth of tennis in Asia and the continued rise of the Next Generation of ATP stars. Chung, 20, and Lee, 18, provided the first final between Koreans in Challenger history, with the elder countryman successfully defending his title. The second player to retain a Challenger title this year, joining Facundo Bagnis (Santiago), World No. 132 Chung is continuing his push towards a Top 100 return in the Emirates ATP Rankings.

“I am so happy to be back competing after missing most of the summer due to injury and be able to defend my title here in Kaohsiung,” Chung told ATPWorldTour.com. “It is a great event and I really like playing here.

“It was a hard week with lots of tough matches including today against Duckhee, who I know very well. I am happy for him to reach his first Challenger final and it was an honour to play in an all-Korean final. I am looking forward to the rest of the Asian swing and will do my best to finish the year strong.”

Watch the winning moment in #Kaohsiung, as Hyeon #Chung retains the title with a straight-set victory over Duckhee #Lee. #ATPChallenger pic.twitter.com/3iJsr0iE6s

— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) September 25, 2016

Chung is the 12th #NextGen winner on the ATP Challenger Tour this year, while Lee, who was appearing in his first final, was bidding to become the ninth teenage titlist. Teens are now 8-8 in finals in 2016.

Columbus Challenger (Columbus, U.S.A.): Ohio State University junior Mikael Torpegaard completed a fairytale week on his home campus, streaking to his maiden ATP Challenger Tour title on Sunday. The 22 year old notched his first victory over a Top 100 opponent with a rollercoaster 6-4, 1-6, 6-2 win over Benjamin Becker in the final.

The win was even more remarkable considering Torpegaard was competing in his first main draw on the Challenger circuit. The first Dane to lift a trophy since Kristian Pless in Saint-Brieuc, France in 2007, he is just the sixth player from his country to win a Challenger title overall. Torpegaard is also the second player to win in his Challenger debut this year, joining fellow Scandinavian player Casper Ruud of Norway.

“To win it is unbelievable,” said Torpegaard. “It’s just a really good feeling. I came into the tournament as the underdog on paper in every match, but I believed in myself and went in wanting to have some fun and figure out my level to beat these guys.

“I definitely take that I can perform at this level and I’m happy to figure that out this week. It looks more realistic to be a professional after college.”

Sibiu Open (Sibiu, Romania): Robin Haase claimed his 13th ATP Challenger Tour title on Sunday in Sibiu, downing Italy’s Lorenzo Giustino 7-6(2), 6-2. Top seed and World No. 65 Haase did not face a seeded opponent all week in notching his second victory of the season. Also the champion on home soil in Scheveningen, he is the 25th player to win multiple titles this year.

The feel-good story of the tournament belonged to Tim Puetz, as the 28-year-old German reached the semi-finals in his first main draw in exactly one year following knee surgery. He also won the doubles title alongside Haase.

TEB Izmir Cup (Izmir, Turkey): It was a week of firsts on the ATP Challenger Tour: the first all-Korean final in Kaohsiung and the first all-Turkish final in Izmir. Former World No. 77 Marsel Ilhan added a fourth Challenger title with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over countryman Cem Ilkel on Sunday. Wild card Ilkel had never reached a quarter-final entering the week.

? pic.twitter.com/Gt9LjiAfne

— Marsel Ilhan (@MarselTennisTR) September 25, 2016

Campeonato Internacional de Tenis de Santos (Santos, Brazil): The tournament in Santos took on an Argentine and Brazilian flair, with all but three players in the main draw hailing from the two South American nations. Renzo Olivo emerged in a waterlogged finish, which saw the 24 year old lift his first ATP Challenger Tour trophy after playing two matches on Sunday. He defeated Thiago Monteiro 6-4, 7-6(5).

Campeon en Santos ?????????⚫️ pic.twitter.com/jlFvtkXEAf

— renzo olivo (@renzolii) September 26, 2016

Morocco Tennis Tour – Kenitra (Kenitra, Morocco): Maximilian Marterer proved to be the king of the Moroccan swing, sweeping both events in Meknes and Kenitra. The 21-year-old German soared to a career-high No. 170 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, downing Mohamed Safwat 6-2, 6-4 on Saturday. Safwat was just the second Egyptian to contest a Challenger final, joining Tamer El Sawy.

View Draws & Watch Free Live Streams

ATP CHALLENGER TOUR ON TWITTER: New in 2016, the ATP Challenger Tour has launched a dedicated Twitter account for the latest news and information about players and events. Follow @ATPChallengerTour at twitter.com/ATPChallengerTour.