Stefanos Tsitsipas will try to bolster his position in the ATP Race To London at next week’s China Open in Beijing. The 20-year-old Greek had to retire from his opening match at the Zhuhai Championships on Thursday at the start of the third set (6-3, 5-7).

“I’m very sorry to all the fans who came to see me play tonight in Zhuhai. I was trying my best but unfortunately I had to retire as I was struggling to breathe out on court,” he said. “Thank you to everyone in Zhuhai, and sorry I couldn’t make it all the way.”

It happens! See you next time and all the best! @StefTsitsipas quotes ?
#ZC19 @ATP_Tour pic.twitter.com/HLacsXnbIj

— Zhuhai Championships (@ZhuhaiChampions) September 26, 2019

Tsitsipas later confirmed, though, that he will make his debut at the ATP 500 in China next week. He currently is in sixth place in the Race. The top eight will compete at the Nitto ATP Finals, to be held 10-17 November at The O2 in London. Tsitispas is looking to make his debut at the season-ending championships.

Andy Murray turned in the best match of his singles comeback on Thursday, but it ended in a loss. #NextGenATP Aussie Alex de Minaur overcame the grit and determination of Murray, beating the former World No. 1 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 to reach the quarter-finals at the Huajin Securities Zhuhai Championships.

The two were on serve in the third until De Minaur broke to love at 4-4 when Murray netted a backhand. The 2018 Next Gen ATP Finals runner-up (l. to Tsitsipas) then held his nerve, erasing three break points to take the gruelling baseline affair that tested both player’s physical capabilities.

Murray was playing in only his fourth tour-level contest of his comeback, but it was, without a doubt, his best match since he returned to the singles court at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati last month.

The 32-year-old played aggressively, moving De Minaur around the court with heavy forehands and serving efficiently, save for a second-set dip. Murray also more than held his own from the baseline with De Minaur, 12 years his junior.

The @andy_murray lob is a thing of beauty ?

?: @TennisTV | @ZhuhaiChampions pic.twitter.com/q8M2IceZGo

— ATP Tour (@ATP_Tour) September 26, 2019

Murray was trying to win back-to-back tour-level matches since last September at the Shenzhen Open. But De Minaur appeared the fresher of the two and found another gear to win their first FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting.

The Aussie will face Croatian Borna Coric for a place in the Zhuhai semi-finals. Coric, last week’s St. Petersburg Open finalist, won 83 per cent of his second-serve points and beat Di Wu of China 6-3, 6-3.

The fourth seed has played some of his best tennis during the Asian Swing, making his first ATP Masters 1000 title match last October at the Rolex Shanghai Masters (l. to Djokovic). His final last week in Russia (l. to Medvedev) was his first since Shanghai.

Egor Gerasimov edged through an encounter featuring 59 aces and only two break points on Thursday over World No. 19 John Isner at the Chengdu Open.

Gerasimov struck 24 aces to Isner’s 35 aces to record a 6-7(11), 7-6(5), 7-6(4) second-round victory in two hours and 32 minutes. Gerasimov won 87 per cent of his first-service points (71/82), while top seed Isner won 84 per cent (76/90).

“I’m feeling great after beating another guy from the Top 20,” said Gerasimov. “I’ve been working hard and I feel comfortable here on the courts in Chengdu.”

Isner failed to convert set points at 6/4, 7/6, 9/8 and 11/10 in the first-set tie-break, while he saved set points at 7/8 and 9/10. Gerasimov, who beat Matteo Berrettini en route to last week’s St. Petersburg Open semi-finals, could not convert two set points on Isner’s serve when leading 6-5 in the second set. But Gerasimov clinched the set on his fifth set point in the second-set tie-break and later won the first three points of the third-set tie-break.

The 26-year-old will next play eighth-seeded Canadian Denis Shapovalov, who scraped past American qualifier Bradley Klahn 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(3) in two hours and two minutes. Shapovalov hit 13 aces and won 81 per cent of his first-service points.

Earlier in the day, Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta overcame third-seeded Frenchman Benoit Paire 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 in 78 minutes and now plays Chile’s Cristian Garin, who won by the same scoreline against Fernando Verdasco of Spain.

Andreas Seppi earned a hard-fought victory at the Huajin Securities Zhuhai Championships Thursday in China, saving five match points to defeat Zhizhen Zhang. After the match, the Italian spoke to ATPTour.com about how he would build his ultimate tennis player and why.

Serve
I think I would take John Isner’s because he’s serving big and he always has a high percentage of first serves in. And also his second serve is really tough to return, bouncing high and everything. I’d take his, definitely.

Forehand
The forehand is difficult to decide on, but I would take Roger Federer’s forehand because I am right-handed, so I can’t take Rafa’s. He’s lefty! So I would go with Roger’s because it’s a very clean shot and he really has good timing on the shot and always anticipates going into the court and the net, so I really like that forehand.

Backhand
It’s difficult because I would take a two-handed backhand. I really liked David Nalbandian’s backhand. He was one of the guys who could really get every angle with his backhand, short angle, going down the line, and it looked really easy. I really liked his.

Also Kei Nishikori’s two-handed backhand I really like because it looks really easy. Novak Djokovic’s, especially on the return. I think he’s always there really well. I also like Basilashvili’s because he plays really fast. He always has good timing. Maybe I would pick Nalbandian’s if I had to choose one.

Movement
There are a lot of players who are moving well like Novak or Rafa. Also I think Roger is still moving [well]. It looks easy when he’s moving. Maybe in general I would take Rafa for his endurance and everything.

Volleys
I would take Roger again because when he comes in he almost never misses the volley. It’s difficult to make him miss the volley. When it’s a tough one he always plays it in a good position and then he goes for the next one. He has a great feeling at the net I would say. I would take him again for the volleys.

Tactics
It’s difficult to say. A guy like Roger has a lot of options, so he can maybe play different shots in different moments. But I think Novak, Roger and Rafa, all three tactics-wise and mentally they are so strong and difficult to beat in the big moments. So it’s difficult to choose one of those three. I think Roger has more options.

Feel
I think a guy like Diego Schwartzman — you have to play really good tennis or have good hands to compete at a high level — and being not as tall as other players and serving aces, you really need to have good hands to compete and put the ball where you want. So I think he really has good hands and also knows a little how the game goes, a good eye to feel. I think he has pretty good hands, but again Roger barely misses a drop shot. He’s maybe also a guy who slices. When you see his slice, it [looks] really easy.

Slice
On the return Roger blocks it and on the second he can hit a nice, good slice. During the point he can vary the shots with the slice. I think for sure he has one of the slices on Tour, definitely. Steve Johnson just plays a slice backhand 90 per cent of the time, so you have to have a good slice to compete at this level. Roger can do a little bit more with the slice. I’ve picked him a lot of times!

Toughest Player I’ve Every Played
I had the feeling when I played Roger when you went down at the beginning, when you couldn’t stay there in the first games, he just crushed you. He played so fast and he never gives you time to relax or hit a normal shot because he always goes for it. I think with Rafa you have more time, but it’s difficult to win the point because he’s playing so heavy and everything. You have to hit like three winners to win the point. But you feel more that you’re into the match. Also with Novak or Andy [Murray], they let you play more. Roger plays faster and doesn’t give you much time. Playing against him is really tough.

Andreas Seppi saved five match points in a tense deciding-set tie-break, which Chinese wild card Zhizhen Zhang had led 6/2 and 8/7, on Thursday at the Huajin Securities Zhuhai Championships.

The 35-year-old Italian converted his second match point to complete a 7-6(4), 4-6, 7-6(8) victory in two hours and 44 minutes. In the second week of the 2019 ATP Tour season, Seppi reached his first final since 2015 at the Sydney International (l. to de Minaur).

“I don’t know how I won the match in the end, because I was also struggling a little bit physically and everything, especially at the beginning of the tie-break,” Seppi told ATPTour.com. “I was so tired. Then I was 2/6 down and I found some energy and I was for sure a little bit lucky at 4/6 with the one-handed passing shot. Maybe I make one out of 20 of those, so it was a good one to get the one.

“Then, the passing shot at 6/5, I chose the right side where to go and hit the passing shot. I just tried to play until the last point and it worked out today. Of course it was a little bit of luck, but if you don’t fight until the end, it wouldn’t happen. So I’m happy about that — also because I was really down with the energy — that I managed to fight until the end and it paid off today.”

He will now play second seed Roberto Bautista Agut, who is currently seventh in the 2019 ATP Race To London for a spot at the Nitto ATP Finals in November. Bautista Agut edged past fellow Spaniard Pablo Andujar 7-5, 7-5 in one hour and 52 minutes.

Elsewhere, top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, who is another contender for the season finale, to be held at The O2 in London from 10-17 November, retired due to illness prior to the start of the third set against Adrian Mannarino after one hour and 50 minutes of play. Mannarino now faces Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Damir Dzumhur, who defeated fellow qualifier Soonwoo Kwon of South Korea 7-6(3), 6-2 in 90 minutes.

Grigor Dimitrov recorded a high-quality 7-5, 7-5 victory over Briton Daniel Evans on Thursday and is now one win away from reaching the Chengdu Open semi-finals for a second time (2016).

“It’s my first match since the US Open and, for sure, I had a little bit of nerves and wanted to do well.” said Dimitrov. “I was just trying to do what I’ve built on in the past weeks. It was a really good win, I will take it in and prepare for the next one.”

The fourth-seeded Bulgarian broke Evans in the 12th game of the first set, then took a 3-0 lead in the second set. From a 1-4 deficit, Delray Beach finalist Evans won four of the next five games, but was broken at 5-6.

Three weeks ago, Dimitrov reached his third Grand Slam championship semi-final (l. to Medvedev), having come into the US Open at No. 78 in the ATP Rankings. Dimitrov will next challenge Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik, who struck 13 aces and won 31 of 37 first-service points to beat Jordan Thompson of Australia 6-4, 7-5 in 69 minutes. The 22-year-old Bublik reached his first ATP Tour final at Newport (l. to Isner) in July.

Later in the day, 2018 semi-finalist Joao Sousa held his nerve and withstood 23 aces to beat second-seeded Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime, a contender for the Next Gen ATP Finals in November, 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-4 in two hours and nine minutes. Sousa, who reached the St. Petersburg Open semi-finals (l. to Coric) last week, next faces Lloyd Harris, a South African lucky loser, a 6-3, 6-3 victor over fifth-seeded Serbian Dusan Lajovic.

“I think it was another great match against a great player today,” said Sousa. “We both served very well today and in the end somehow I was able to make the break. I think I was a little more aggressive and tried to return as best I could, so I’m happy with this win. I feel good here in Chengdu and hope I can keep going.”

The ATP has concluded its investigation concerning Nick Kyrgios that was initiated following his second-round match at the ATP Masters 1000 event Cincinnati in which he was fined US$ 113,000.

The investigation, conducted by Gayle David Bradshaw, Executive Vice President, Rules & Competition, has concluded that Kyrgios has been found to have committed Aggravated Behavior under the Player Major Offense provision in the ATP Code.

The investigation found a pattern of behavior related to Kyrgios’s Verbal Abuse of officials and/or spectators in the past 12 months that constitutes a violation as defined by section 8.05 A. 1) a) (iii) of the 2019 ATP Official Rulebook*.

The offense means that Kyrgios receives the following additional penalties:

• A fine of US$ 25,000
• A suspension of 16 ATP weeks
• A probationary period of six months beginning the Monday following acceptance of the terms of today’s determination.

However, both the fine and the suspension are deferred pending Kyrgios’s compliance with the following conditions, which shall apply at ATP Tour / ATP Challenger Tour events throughout the six-month probationary period:

• No further Code Violations during the probationary period that result in a fine for:
– Verbal or Physical Abuse of officials, spectators or any other persons while on-court or on-site, or
– Unsportsmanlike Conduct based upon an act, such as spitting, directed towards an official, spectator or other person during or upon conclusion of the match, or
– Visible Obscenity directed towards an official.
• Continued support from a mental coach while competing at ATP Tour events.
• Additional support to be sought during the off-season (Nov-Dec) from a professional specializing in behavioral management.

The US$ 25,000 fine and 16-week suspension will be lifted at the end of the six-month probationary period provided that the above conditions are met. Any appeal by Kyrgios must be lodged within five working days of today’s determination.

Separately, a second investigation took place related to comments made by Kyrgios towards ATP during the US Open. Following a clarification issued by the player the following day, it was determined that the incident did not constitute a Player Major Offense, and no additional penalties were applied.

*Extract from 2019 ATP Official Rulebook

8.05 Player Major Offenses/Procedures
A. Offenses
Aggravated Behavior
a) No player, their coaches, Physiotherapist, therapist, physician, management representative, agent, family member, tournament guest, business associate or other affiliate or associate of any player (“Related Persons”), or any other person who receives accreditation at an Event at the request of the player or any other Related Person, at any ATP Tour or ATP Challenger Tour tournament shall engage in aggravated behavior which is defined as follows:
(i) One or more incidents of behavior designated in this Code as constituting aggravated behavior.
(ii) One incident of behavior that is flagrant and particularly injurious to the success of a tournament, or is singularly egregious, including the sale of credentials.
(iii) A series of two (2) or more violations of this Code within a twelve (12) month period which singularly do not constitute aggravated behavior, but when viewed together establish a pattern of conduct that is collectively egregious and is detrimental or injurious to ATP Tour or ATP Challenger Tour tournaments.