Alcaraz, Medvedev win opening match in China Open; Draper upsets Hurkacz in Tokyo

Medvedev safely navigated a tricky first outing in Beijing, while Hurkacz lost to U.S. Open semifinalist Jack Draper in the second round in Tokyo

Carlos Alcaraz of Spain celebrates after defeating Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard of France during the China Open tennis tournament held at the National Tennis Center in Beijing, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024. | Photo Credit: AP

Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev both won in straight sets to start their China Open title bids Friday, while 595th-ranked Zhang Shuai pulled off a big shock in the women’s draw.

Four-time major champion Alcaraz defeated fellow 21-year-old Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard 6-4, 6-4 and faces Tallon Griekspoor of the Netherlands in round two in Beijing.

Alcaraz, who went out in the second round of the US Open last month, made a blistering start against the 51st-ranked Frenchman by breaking serve in the first game.

The Spanish second seed faced three break points as he served for the first set, but he saved them all on the way to wrapping up the set in style.

“Saving three break points and being able to close the first set, it was really important for me,” he said.

Former number one Alcaraz started the second set in exactly the same way, by breaking his opponent, and sealed a comfortable victory on his first match point.

The only sour point for the Spaniard was when he was given a second-time violation as he served for the first set.

“I was a little bit mad about it,” he said.

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Russian third seed Medvedev, who lost last year’s final in Beijing to current number one Jannik Sinner, eased past veteran Gael Monfils.

The 2021 US Open champion defeated the 38-year-old 6-3, 6-4 and faces another Frenchman Adrian Mannarino in round two.

The Italian Sinner, fresh from winning the US Open, plays 69th-ranked Russian Roman Safiullin next.

In the women’s draw, sixth-seeded Emma Navarro was upset by Chinese wildcard Zhang Shuai 6-4, 6-2 in 75 minutes. The 35-year-old Zhang, a doubles specialist, played well above her current singles ranking of No. 595 as she took five of her seven breakpoint opportunities against the U.S. Open semifinalist.

Zhang will play Greet Minnen of Belgium, who beat 28th-seeded Anastasia Potapova 7-5, 2-6, 6-4, in the third round.

Also, 12th-seeded Diana Shnaider beat former Australian Open winner Sofia Kenin 6-2, 6-3 and Yuliia Starodubtseva had a 6-2, 6-2 win over 27th-seeded Katerina Siniakova.

Second-seeded Jessica Pegula was due open her tournament later Friday against Diane Parry of France, and Coco Gauff faced Clara Burel in a night match.

U.S. Open champion Aryna Sabalenka plays Saturday against Thai qualifier Mananchaya Sawangkaew. Top-ranked Iga Swiatek was not playing this week for personal reasons.

Draper beats Hurkacz in Japan

Second-seeded Hubert Hurkacz lost 6-4, 6-4 to U.S. Open semifinalist Jack Draper in the second round in Tokyo, a day after top-seeded Taylor Fritz and third-seeded Casper Ruud were eliminated from the tournament.

While the 22-year-old Draper and Hurkacz were evenly matched on aces and winners, it was the Polish player’s 30 unforced errors, to Draper’s 20, that proved costly.

Draper will next play either Brandon Nakashima or Ugo Humbert in the quarterfinals.

Defending champion Ben Shelton also progressed to the quarterfinals with a 6-4, 6-3 defeat of Mariano Navone. Shelton, along with Fritz, traveled to Japan from the Laver Cup in Berlin, where they represented Team World in a loss to Alcaraz’s Team Europe.

(with inputs from AP)