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

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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.

Nitto ATP Finals contender Roberto Bautista Agut strengthened his hold on seventh position in the 2019 ATP Race To London on Friday by reaching the Huajin Securities Zhuhai Championships semi-finals. The Spaniard improved to 4-0 lifetime against Italian Andreas Seppi with a 6-2, 6-2 win in 79 minutes.

With four singles spots left up for grabs, Bautista Agut is now 210 points ahead of eighth-placed Italian Matteo Berrettini (2,185 points) in the battle to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals, to be held at The O2 in London from 10-17 November.

When asked about his 2019 season, which includes a run to the Wimbledon semi-finals, Bautista Agut said, “It means that I’ve been doing a lot of good things during the past year and it means that I’m improving my tennis. My game is getting better and that’s why I’m climbing in the ATP Rankings.”

Two breaks in each set against Seppi helped Bautista Agut improve to a 37-16 match record on the season, which includes his ninth ATP Tour title at the QatarExxon Mobil Open in Doha (d. Berdych).

“It’s a very nice center court and the conditions here are very slow, every ball, every point is played by long rallies,” said Bautista Agut. “I like the way I played today and I felt really good on the court.”

Awaiting Bautista Agut in the semi-finals is seventh seed Alex de Minaur. The #NextGenATP Aussie continued to make his case for a second appearance at the Next Gen ATP Finals in November by prevailing in an entertaining 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 clash against fourth-seeded Croatian Borna Coric. Their Centre Court battle was the second Top 15 win of De Minaur’s career.

“Obviously I’ve got to do everything I can to recover. Every time I step out on court, I’m going to give one hundred percent,” De Minaur said. “Roberto is a very good friend of mine and one of the toughest guys out there, so it’s going to be a hell of a fight and I love it. I’m looking forward to it.”

After racing through the opening set, it appeared that the Aussie would cruise to victory after pouncing on Coric’s serve to break at 3-3 in the second set. Coric had other ideas, though, and completed a remarkable turnaround by winning 12 of the next 14 points to force a decider. De Minaur scored the lone break of the final set at 1-1 and held on to his slight advantage with a flawless serving display, winning 20 of 23 service points to advance in two hours and 19 minutes.

The 20-year-old, who defeated Andy Murray on Thursday, has continued to excel on hard courts this season. He captured his maiden ATP Tour crown on home soil in January at the Sydney International (d. Seppi) and prevailed in July at the BB&T Atlanta Open. De Minaur also defeated Kei Nishikori last month at the US Open to reach the second week at a Grand Slam for the first time.

Albert Ramos-Vinolas got the better of a familiar foe on Friday for a place in his fourth ATP Tour semi-final of the season. The eighth-seeded Spaniard knocked out third seed Gael Monfils of France 7-5, 6-4 over one hour and 40 minutes at the Huajin Securities Zhuhai Championships, in their fourth FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting of the year (Monfils 3-1).

Ramos-Vinolas, who’d beaten Monfils in May at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome, recovered from a slow start in a first set that featured five breaks of serve. The 31-year-old took a 3-1 advantage in the second set, before Monfils recovered to 3-3, only to be broken in the seventh game.

World No. 46 Ramos-Vinolas, who will next meet Frenchman Adrian Mannarino or Bosnia and Herzegovina qualifier Damir Dzumhur, is now 29-20 on the season. He captured his second ATP Tour title in July at the J. Safra Sarasin Swiss Open Gstaad (d. Stebe) and also finished runner-up at the Generali Open in Kitzbhuel (l. to Thiem).

Alexander Bublik saved two match points at the Chengdu Open on Friday to advance to the second ATP Tour semi-final of his career.

The 22-year-old Kazakhstani hit 35 aces to beat fourth-seeded Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov 5-7, 7-6(9), 7-6(3) in two hours and 32 minutes at the ATP 250 tournament. It denied Dimitrov his 300th match win.

“It’s been a good week for me, and beating Grigor is a great achievement for me,” said Bublik. “The second set tie-break was tough, I never thought about being match points down, but just playing my own game and serving well.”

Bublik saved two match points at 6/7 and 8/9 in the second set tie-break, which he clinched on his third set point. He then won the first three games of the deciding set and held a 4-1 advantage, before Dimitrov battled back to 4-4 and saved one match point at 4-5, 30/40. Bublik won the first five points of the deciding set tie-break.

World No. 71 Bublik has now hit 73 aces in three matches at the ATP 250 tournament – including 25 aces against Taylor Fritz in the first round, 13 aces against Jordan Thompson in the second round. He will next face South African lucky loser Lloyd Harris or Joao Sousa of Portugal.

Bublik advanced to his first ATP Tour final in July at the Hall of Fame Open in Newport (l. to Isner) and is now 13-10 on the season. Dimitrov reached his third Grand Slam championship semi-final earlier this month at the US Open (l. to Medvedev).

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.