Sinner and Alcaraz feature in stellar ATP China Open line-up

The Italian has entered the main draw as the defending champion

Carlos Alcaraz defeated Jannik Sinner at the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells || 260588_0129

(Antoine Couvercelle / Panoramic)

September 24, 2024

The ATP China Open 2024 draw went live on Tuesday (September 24) as the tennis fraternity entered the latter half of the Asian hardcourt swing. Italian Jannik Sinner has returned among the competitors as the No 1 seed in Beijing to defend his title after a glorious US Open campaign.

The Italian’s budding rival Carlos Alcaraz, the world No 3, will lead the opposite half of the draw as the second seed after pushing Team Europe to victory at the recently concluded Laver Cup. Alcaraz’s Team Europe mate Daniil Medvedev, who is the 2023 runner-up in Beijing is the seed No 3.

Following is the list of all seeded entrants at the China Open:

Jannik Sinner (1)
Carlos Alcaraz (2)
Daniil Medvedev (3)
Andrey Rublev (4)
Grigor Dimitrov (5)
Lorenzo Musetti (6)
Karen Khachanov (7)
Alexander Bublik (8)

Sinner’s path to title

World No 1 Sinner, who maintains a 55-5 win record for the 2024 season, will begin his Beijing campaign against Chile’s Nicolas Jarry. He notably has a negative head-to-head record against Jarry. The two faced each other for a Round-of-32 battle at the Libema Open 2019, where the Chilean prevailed 7-6 (4), 6-3. They haven’t faced each other since then.

If Sinner downs Jarry in the first round, he will face the winner between Swiss Stan Wawrinka and Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff in the second round. Further, he will meet Jiri Lehcka/Pedro Martinez/Grigor Dimitrov/Qualifier upon reaching the quarter-finals.

Sinner can face challenge from either seed No 4 Andrey Rublev or seed No 6 Lorenzo Musetti in the semi-finals followed by a potential meeting with world No 3 Carlos Alcaraz in the final. There’s also the possibility he would be pitted against Russian Daniil Medvedev in the title clash for a rematch of last year’s final.

Alcaraz and Medvedev in same half

Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev find themselves in the bottom half of the draw, with the possibility of colliding in the semi-finals.

The Spaniard will start against Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard. Upon succeeding against Mpetshi Perricard, he will clash with Miomir Kecmanovic/Tallon Griekspoor. Last year, the four-time Grand Slam champion’s 2023 campaign at the China Open with a 7-6 (4), 6-1 loss to Sinner.

Interestingly, Medvedev will also face resistance from a French player in the form of Gael Monfils in the first round. The two have met on tour four times thus far, with their head-to-head tally balanced at 2-2.