Alexander Zverev was handed a difficult start to his China Open campaign at the draw ceremony in Beijing on Saturday.

The second seed will meet American wild card Frances Tiafoe, for the sixth time, in the first round of the ATP 500 event. Zverev leads Tiafoe 4-1 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series, but was taken to a fifth set by the 21-year-old at the US Open last month.

Zverev will be hoping to extend his unbeaten 3-0 tally in Beijing first-round matches. The reigning Nitto ATP Finals champion owns a 6-3 record in the Chinese capital, highlighted by his run to the semi-finals in 2017.

View Beijing Draw

The winner of Zverev and Tiafoe will move forward to face #NextGenATP Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime or Zhuhai semi-finalist Albert Ramos-Vinolas in the second round. Another Zhuhai semi-finalist — fifth seed Roberto Bautista Agut — also features in the bottom quarter of the draw. 

Such is the quality of the draw each year in Beijing, top seed Dominic Thiem is searching for his first victory at the event on his third appearance. The BNP Paribas Open titlist, who lost to John Isner in 2015 and Alexander Zverev in 2016, will once again be heavily tested in a stacked quarter of the draw.

Thiem opens his campaign against 2013 semi-finalist Richard Gasquet and could face last year’s semi-finalist Kyle Edmund in the second round. US Open semi-finalist Matteo Berrettini and former World No. 1 Andy Murray also feature in the top quarter of the draw, where they will meet each other in one of the picks of the first-round matches.

Karen Khachanov and Fabio Fognini headline the second quarter. Fourth seed Khachanov will begin his title bid against a qualifier, while two-time semi-finalist Fognini faces Mikhail Kukushkin for a spot in the second round. The winner of that match will face Grigor Dimitrov or Andrey Rublev for a position in the quarter-finals.

Third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas leads the way in the third quarter of the draw. The 21-year-old Greek will meet Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters finalist Dusan Lajovic in the first round, with defending champion Nikoloz Basilashvili or Guido Pella awaiting the winner of that clash.

Gael Monfils could meet the winner of that section in the quarter-finals, but the seventh-seeded Frenchman will have to overcome World No. 19 John Isner in his first match. Monfils leads Isner 7-4 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series, with each of their 11 previous encounters being played on hard courts.

Pablo Carreno Busta advanced to his first ATP Tour championship match since 2017 on Saturday, defeating Denis Shapovalov 6-3, 6-4 at the Chengdu Open.

The Spaniard withstood 12 aces from the eighth seed to claim victory after 63 minutes, securing a single break in each set to snap a six-match losing streak in tour-level semi-finals. Competing in his 40th tour-level encounter of the season, Carreno Busta improves to 23-17 this year.

“I lost [semi-finals] in Antalya and Hamburg this year. Finally, I can win a semi-final to be in a final,” said Carreno Busta. “I am excited to play my first final of the year tomorrow.”

The 28-year-old focussed his attack on Shapovalov’s forehand to clinch the first break of the match. Carreno Busta broke serve to love with a crosscourt forehand passing shot to earn a 4-2 lead and maintained his advantage to seal the set after 30 minutes.

The three-time ATP Tour titlist manufactured his only break point of the second set at 3-3, ripping a backhand return winner to move just two games from victory. Carreno Busta booked his place in the final on his first match point with a powerful serve to Shapovalov’s forehand.

Shapovalov was aiming to reach his first ATP Tour championship match. The 20-year-old Canadian also advanced to the last four in Miami and Winston-Salem this year.

”In the first game of the match, I saved two break points and maybe it was the key… He served really good during a lot of the match, but in the two games where I had break points, I broke serve,” said Carreno Busta.

Carreno Busta will attempt to lift his first ATP Tour trophy since the 2017 Millennium Estoril Open when he meets Alexander Bublik in the championship match. The Spaniard leads Bublik 1-0 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series after winning their only previous encounter at the VTB Kremlin Cup.

“Alex is a tough player. He serves really good with his first and second serves… I need to be very focussed, try to win my service games and then wait for the moment and take advantage of my opportunities,” said Carreno Busta.

Bublik reached his second tour-level final of the year by beating Lloyd Harris 7-6(6), 6-4. The Newport runner-up landed 21 aces throughout the 85-minute contest to record his 14th win in 24 tour-level matches this year.

“I played a great match… I am very happy to get through and I am looking forward to the final,” said Bublik.

Bublik will be aiming to join the list of first-time winners on the ATP Tour this season. The most recent player to join the list — Hubert Hurkacz — became the 14th maiden champion of the year following his title run at the Winston-Salem Open last month.

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic is making the most out of his debut at the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships. The superstar, who will be the top seed in the singles event, is also competing in the doubles draw alongside fellow Serbian Filip Krajinovic.

This is the fourth time Djokovic has teamed with Krajinovic on the ATP Tour, with their last appearance together coming at 2015 Doha, where the pair reached the semi-finals. The 32-year-old has captured one tour-level doubles trophy, nine years ago at Queen’s Club with Jonathan Erlich.

In the first round the Serbians will face fourth seeds Mate Pavic and Bruno Soares. The Croat and Brazilian paired up for the first time in London at the Fever-Tree Championships, and their best result thus far came in Cincinnati, where they made the semi-finals.

The top seeds in Tokyo are Spaniard Marcel Granollers and Argentine Horacio Zeballos. They recently made the US Open final in just their second tournament as a team. Granollers and Zeballos’ tandem debut came in Montreal, where they won the title. Granollers and Zeballos will play this year’s Monte-Carlo champions, Nikola Mektic and Franko Skugor, in the first round.

Three of the Top 10 teams in the ATP Doubles Race To London — sixth-placed Jean-Julien Rojer/Horia Tecau, eight-placed Rajeev Ram/Joe Salisbury and 10th-placed Granollers/Zeballos — are in the draw.

Did You Know?
Ben McLachlan has triumphed in Tokyo in each of the past two years. In 2017, he won with compatriot Yasutaka Uchiyama, and in 2018 he emerged victorious alongside Jan-Lennard Struff. This year, the Japanese star is playing with his full-time partner, Brit Luke Bambridge.

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic is making his debut at the Rakuten Open Tennis Championships, and he is being welcomed with a slew of potentially dangerous matches.

The top seed, who has won titles at the Australian Open, Madrid and Wimbledon this year, will play a qualifier in the opening round. Then the Serbian could face big-hitting Jan-Lennard Struff in the second round if the German ousts home favourite Go Soeda, a wild card, in his own opener.

Djokovic owns a 2-0 lead in his FedEx ATP Head2Head series with Struff, but the World No. 38 has enjoyed his most successful year yet, earning four of his six victories against players inside the Top 10 of the ATP Rankings in 2019. Struff upset Marin Cilic en route to the quarter-finals in Tokyo one year ago.

Japanese No. 2 Yoshihito Nishioka is in Djokovic’s section of the draw, and the first seed the World No. 1 can face is fifth seed Lucas Pouille, who made this year’s Australian Open semi-finals. 2017 Tokyo champion David Goffin — who opens against Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta — and two-time semi-finalist and sixth seed Marin Cilic — who begins his run against Japanese wild card Yuichi Sugita — are in Djokovic’s half.

Leading the bottom half is second seed Borna Coric, who lost his only previous match in Tokyo four years ago, when he was only 18, against Kei Nishikori. The Croat plays Japanese wild card Taro Daniel, whom he has never faced, in the first round.

Looming in the quarter-finals for the World No. 14 could be eighth seed Alex de Minaur. The Australian is in good form, battling past Coric in three sets in the Zhuhai quarter-finals on Friday evening. The other seeds on the bottom half are No. 4 Benoit Paire of France and No. 7 Taylor Fritz of the United States.

There are several intriguing first-round matches, including a battle between two Next Gen ATP Finals contenders. Canadian Denis Shapovalov will begin his tournament against Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic, whom he ousted in straight sets in Winston-Salem. Shapovalov will look to blast through Kecmanovic’s solid baseline game once again, with both men trying to earn as many points as they can to make a push for Milan.

Fritz and fellow American Reilly Opelka, who are close friends, will also battle in the first round. Both men have claimed their first ATP Tour title this season, with Fritz doing so in Eastbourne and Opelka achieving the feat at New York’s ATP 250 event.

Did You Know?
Outside of Djokovic, the rest of the ‘Big Four’ have lifted the trophy in Tokyo. Roger Federer was victorious in 2006, Rafael Nadal triumphed in 2010 and Andy Murray earned the title here in 2011. Djokovic will try to join the club in his tournament debut.

As a teenager, Yoshihito Nishioka used to marvel at the forehands of Rafael Nadal and Fernando Verdasco, the muscular Spaniards who rip the ball like few others. Like many who came before him, he dreamed of one day striking fear into opponents with a combination of vicious spin and brute force.

But bearing a frame that upon maturity today is just 170cm and 64 kg, the laws of physics had other ideas, as did Nick Bollettieri. Instead of looking to Spain for inspiration, Nishioka should look half a world away to Chile, the legendary coach advised.

“Mr. Nick told me: ‘You’re not very tall and you’re not very strong, so you need to use your speed and technique and learn to play like a small player,”https://www.atptour.com/” Nishioka says. “He said I should base my game on Marcelo Rios, who was the same height, same build and a lefty like me.”

So Nishioka did what any industrious Millennial would do. “I started watching his matches on YouTube and I learned a lot about how to [construct] points. Coming to the net, hitting drop shots; he can do whatever he wants. After I started watching Rios, I wanted to play like him.

“There are many good small players today like Kei [Nishikori], Goffin, di Minaur, Schwartzman who can compete with the bigger, stronger players. We don’t have their power and we can’t serve 20 aces a match. So we have to use our speed and technique, fight and be mentally tough, and also figure out where the weakness is in our opponents.”

Ahead of his return to home soil next week for the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships in Tokyo, Nishioka had moved to within two places of his career-high ATP Ranking after a determined recovery from serious injury.

Just four days after reaching his best ranking of No. 58 in March 2017, ‘Yoshi’ tore his left ACL during a second-round match against Jack Sock at the Miami Open. He underwent surgery in April and missed the remainder of the year.

His long road back included 11 ATP Challenger Tour appearances in 2018 but, more significantly, his first ATP Tour title one year ago in Shenzhen, when he came through qualifying to take the title. The run included three-set wins over his idol Verdasco in the semis and Frenchman Pierre-Hugues Herbert in the final.

“That is a big memory for me and at the time I couldn’t believe I won the tournament because I played the qualifying and I hadn’t made any deep runs at ATP events that year. The comeback had been very tough, so the victory was very emotional.”

Growing up in Japan, Nishioka was one of many young players who benefitted from the generosity of former Sony Chairman Masaaki Morita, who underwrote the cost of sending players to IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida.

“Mr. Morita wanted to support Japanese tennis juniors and at that time in Japan not many players went outside the country. But Mr. Morita thought we had to go outside. Each year he sent a junior to IMG Academy and there we were given our goal for the year, such as winning a Futures event or a big junior tournament. If I meet the goal, I get to stay for another year. If I don’t meet it, I have to go back home.”

Spending four years in Florida not only improved his tennis, it broadened his horizons and life skills.

“When I went to IMG I had zero English,” Nishioka says. “Many Japanese are shy when they cannot speak. They thought I was crazy because I wanted to speak, to have conversations with people. Even though I couldn’t speak I still wanted to try.

“I wanted to talk to players who were the same age as me at IMG, to make friends. I want to know about their culture and to tell them about Japanese culture. I also knew that English was the language of tennis, among the players and in the interview room. So I knew I had to learn it.”

Nishioka’s best results this year have come on hard courts. In January he came through qualifying to reach the Sydney quarter-finals. At Indian Wells he beat current Top 10 player Roberto Bautista Agut and Felix Auger-Aliassime before retiring with a back injury against Miomir Kecmanovic in the fourth round.

His best result of the year – a run through qualifying to the Cincinnati quarter-finals – was extra special as it included his first win over his hero Nishikori.

“I want to check the morning news tomorrow to see what they’re going to say,” Nishioka told media after the win. “Hopefully many spotlight on me. In Japanese tennis, the only famous players are Kei and Naomi [Osaka]. I want to change that. Hopefully [fans] are going to maybe watch me after the match today.”

With Nishikori unfortunately sidelined with an arm injury, Nishioka is sure to be the fan favourite next week in Tokyo.

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic is set to make his debut at the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships, the longest-running ATP Tour event in Asia. After conquering the China Open in Beijing with a record six titles, he will aim to continue his success at the ATP 500 tournament in Tokyo. Djokovic will be looking to join the rest of the Big Four — Roger Federer (2006), Rafael Nadal (2010) and Andy Murray (2011) — as Tokyo champions.

Two years ago, David Goffin moved up five places into a Nitto ATP Finals qualification spot by winning his biggest career title here. The Belgian has a similar opportunity this coming week. Goffin enters at No. 12 in the ATP Race To London and could climb as high as No. 7 with another strong run in Tokyo. Meanwhile, #NextGenATP stars Alex de Minaur, Denis Shapovalov and Miomir Kecmanovic will be looking to solidify their standings in the top seven in the ATP Race To Milan.

The Tokyo field also features World No. 14 Borna Coric, two-time semi-finalist Marin Cilic and Frenchmen Benoit Paire and Lucas Pouille.

Here’s all you need to know about the Tokyo tennis tournament: what is the schedule, where to watch, who has won and more. 

Established: 1972

Tournament Dates: 30 September – 6 October 2019

#rakutenopen2019 pic.twitter.com/yX0g1Ody86

— Novak Djokovic (@DjokerNole) September 27, 2019

Tournament Director: Nao Kawatei

Draw Ceremony: Saturday, 28 September, not before 12pm on site

Are You In? Subscribe To Get Tournament Updates In Your Inbox

Schedule (View On Official Website)
* Qualifying: starts Saturday at 11am
* Main draw: Monday to Friday from 11am, Saturday from 1pm
* Doubles final: Sunday, 6 October at 1pm
* Singles final: Sunday, 6 October not before 3:30pm

How To Watch
Watch Live On Tennis TV 
TV Schedule

Venue: Ariake Tennis Forest Park
Main Court Seating: 10,000
Surface: Hard

Prize Money: US $1,895,290 (Total Financial Commitment: US $2,046,340)  

Tickets On Sale: Buy Now

View Who Is Playing, Past Champions, Seeds, Points & Prize Money Breakdown

Honour Roll (Open Era)
Most Titles, Singles: Stefan Edberg (4)
Most Titles, Doubles: Ken Flach, Rick Leach (3)
Oldest Champion: Ken Rosewall, 38, in 1973
Youngest Champion: Jimmy Arias, 18, in 1982
Lowest-Ranked Champion (since 1978): No. 121 Kenneth Carlsen in 2002 
Most Match Wins: Stefan Edberg (27)

2018 Finals
Singles: [Q] Daniil Medvedev (RUS) d [3] Kei Nishikori (JPN) 62 64   Read & Watch
Doubles: [4] Ben McLachlan (JPN) / Jan-Lennard Struff (GER) d [3] Raven Klaasen (RSA) / Michael Venus (NZL) 64 75  Read More

Social
Hashtag: #rakutenopen
Facebook: @rakutenjapanopen
Twitter: @rakutenopen
Instagram: @rakutenopen

Did You Know… The ATP 500 tournament is played at the Ariake Colosseum, an expansive tennis centre comprising 48 courts and a stadium with one of the first retractable roofs in tennis. In preparation for the 2020 Olympic Games, the 2018 event was held indoors at the Musushino Forest Sport Plaza. Read More

Jonathan Erlich/Fabrice Martin produced a statement win on Friday at the Chengdu Open by defeating top seeds Ivan Dodig/Filip Polasek 6-2, 5-7, 10-8 to reach the doubles final.

The Israeli-French pairing won 82 per cent of their first-serve points (31/38) to advance in one hour and 35 minutes. Erlich prevailed this year in Antalya with Artem Sitak (d. Dodig/Polasek), while Martin teamed with Jeremy Chardy for titles this season in Marseille (d. McLachlan/Middelkoop) and Estoril (d. Bambridge/O’Mara), in addition to a runner-up finish at Roland Garros (l. to Krawietz/Mies).

Awaiting Erlich/Martin in the final are Serbians Nikola Cacic/Dusan Lajovic or Americans Taylor Fritz/Nicholas Monroe. Cacic/Lajovic defeated Xin Gao/Zhe Li 7-6(5), 6-3 and Fritz/Monroe prevailed over second seeds Dominic Inglot/Austin Krajicek 7-6(5), 6-2.

At the Huajin Securities Zhuhai Championships, fourth seeds Sander Gille/Jordan Vliegen moved into the doubles final with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Dominik Koepfer/Soon Woo Kwon. The Belgian pair went on an 11-match winning streak in July, taking titles in Bastad (d. Delbonis/Zeballos) and Gstaad (d. Oswald/Polasek), and finishing runner-up in Kitzbühel (l. to Oswald/Polasek).

Gille/Vliegen will face Marcel Demoliner/Matwe Middelkoop or Goncalo Oliviera/Andrei Vasilevski in the championship match.

Denis Shapovalov booked a place in his third ATP Tour semi-final of the year on Friday to further improve his chances of securing a place at the Next Gen ATP Finals in November.

The eighth-seeded Canadian wore down in-form Egor Gerasimov of Belarus in a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 victory over one hour and 38 minutes at the Chengdu Open. Gerasimov had beaten top seed John Isner in the quarter-finals on Thursday.

“It feels great, I’m in good form and I feel that I’m getting over the jet lag now,” said Shapovalov. “Egor is a good player, with a tough serve to read, so I’m happy to get into another semi-final. I tried to pick up my serve in the third set.”

Big serving from Shapovalov — nine aces and 85 per cent of first-service points won — helped him record his 25th match win of the season, which also includes semi-final runs at the Miami Open presented by Itau (l. to Federer) in March and the Winston-Salem Open (l. to Hurkacz) in August. He is currently in fourth position in the 2019 ATP Race To Milan.

The 20-year-old Shapovalov will now face Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta, who knocked out Cristian Garin of Chile 7-5, 6-2 in 83 minutes. Shapovalov beat Carreno Busta 6-3, 7-6(5) in May during the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome, which represented their second FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting (also 2017 US Open).

“It was a very good win as I was focused all of the match,” said Carreno Busta. “I felt really comfortable on the court today. I played the match at 100 per cent. I played against Denis in Rome, which was probably not my best match, but I have a chance for revenge tomorrow and I hope to continue to enjoy this tournament.”

Dominic Thiem and Stefanos Tsitsipas lead a number of Nitto ATP Finals hopefuls at the 2019 China Open. Thiem is looking for his first win in his third appearance at this ATP 500 tournament, while Tsitsipas will be making his Beijing debut. The Austrian and Greek are next in line to qualify for London, respectively at No. 5 and No. 6 in the ATP Race To London.

Roberto Bautista Agut and Matteo Berrettini, who currently hold down the seventh and eighth spots in the Race, join the pair in Beijing, along with Gael Monfils (No. 10), reigning Nitto ATP Finals champion Alexander Zverev (No. 11), Fabio Fognini (No. 13) and Diego Schwartzman (No. 14).

The Beijing field also features World No. 9 Karen Khachanov, 2016 winner Andy Murray, defending champion Nikoloz Basilashvili and 19-year-old Felix Auger-Aliassime, who is looking to qualifying for the Next Gen ATP Finals.

Here’s all you need to know about the Beijing tennis tournament: what is the schedule, where to watch, who has won and more. 

Established: 2004

Tournament Dates: 30 September – 6 October 2019

Tournament Director: Alfred Zhang

Draw Ceremony: Saturday, 28 September, at 2:30pm on site

Are You In? Subscribe To Get Tournament Updates In Your Inbox

Schedule (View On Official Website)
* Qualifying: starts Saturday at 11am
* Main draw: Monday to Saturday at 12:30pm (except for Tuesday which begins at 1pm); night sessions Wednesday to Saturday at 7:30pm
* Doubles final: Sunday, 6 October follows WTA doubles final at 12pm
* Singles final: Sunday, 6 October not before 7:30pm

How To Watch
Watch Live On Tennis TV 
TV Schedule

Venue: National Tennis Center
Main Court Seating: 15,000
Surface: Hard

Prize Money: US $3,515,225 (Total Financial Commitment: US $3,666,275)  

Tickets On Sale: Buy Now

View Who Is Playing, Past Champions, Seeds, Points & Prize Money Breakdown

Honour Roll (Open Era)
Most Titles, Singles: Novak Djokovic (6)
Most Titles, Doubles: Bob Bryan, Mike Bryan (3)
Oldest Champion: Rafael Nadal, 31, in 2017
Youngest Champion: Rafael Nadal, 19, in 2005
Lowest-Ranked Champion: No. 34 Nikoloz Basilashvili in 2018
Most Match Wins: Novak Djokovic (29)

2018 Finals
Singles: Nikoloz Basilashvili (GEO) d [1] Juan Martin del Potro (ARG) 64 64   Read & Watch
Doubles: [2] Lukasz Kubot (POL) / Marcelo Melo (BRA) d [1] Oliver Marach (AUT) / Mate Pavic (CRO) 61 64  Read More

Social
Hashtag: #ChinaOpen
Facebook: @ChinaOpen
Twitter: @ChinaOpen
Instagram: @chinaopen

Did You Know… The Beijing Olympic Green Tennis Center, built for the 2008 Olympic Games, is the venue for the China Open. The venue boasts a 15,000-seat stadium with a retractable roof, named the Diamond Court due to its likeness.