Tag Archives: China Open

Carlos Alcaraz Defeats Karen Khachanov to Reach China Open Semifinals for Second Straight Year

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Carlos Alcaraz is one step closer to the China Open title…

The 21-year-old Spanish tennis star, the tournament’s No. 3 seed, advanced to the China Open semifinals for the second straight year after an impressive 7-5, 6-2 victory against Karen Khachanov on Monday.

Carlos Alcaraz,Alcaraz was characteristically relentless from the baseline and ground down the No. 27-ranked Khachanov’s service games and converted four of 12 service break opportunities to win in 96 minutes.

“I always try to put some pressure when they’re serving just to in a certain way tell them that I’m going to be there,” Alcaraz said. “If they want to win the service game or to beat me, they have to accept the battle and playing a really good tennis. For me, it’s what I’m trying to show them all the time.”

It was Alcaraz’s 46th win of the season and the victory allowed the reigning French Open and Wimbledon champion to climb back above the absent Alexander Zverev into second place in the ATP live rankings.

Alcaraz will face Daniil Medvedev in the semifinals, after the fifth-ranked Russian beat Flavio Cobolli of Italy 6-2, 6-4.

Carlos Alcaraz Earns 200th ATP Tour Victory

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Carlos Alcaraz is celebrating a new ATP milestone…

The 21-year-old Spanish tennis player cruised past Tallon Griekspoor 6-1, 6-2 at the China Open for his 200th tour-level victory on Sunday.

Carlos Alcaraz The victory sent Alcaraz to the quarterfinals and made him the third player born in this century to achieve the 200-win feat along with Jannik Sinner and Felix Auger-Aliassime. 

“I’m really happy about it, 200 wins is a great number,” Alcaraz said.

“But I am already looking for the third hundred. I just want to keep going, to keep rolling. I am looking forward to playing matches and to keep doing the things that I am doing.”

In other men’s matches, local favorite Bu Yunchaokete upset Paris Olympics bronze medalist Lorenzo Musetti 6-2, 6-4 for the 22-year-old’s first victory against a top 20-player.

The 96th-ranked Bu will next play either fifth-seeded Andrey Rublev or Alejando Davidovich Fokina.

Seventh-seeded Karen Khachanov made 15 fewer winners and four more unforced errors than Argentine Francisco Cerundolo, but found a way to win the big points in a 7-6 (4), 7-6 (9) victory to take him through to the quarterfinals and a matchup against Alcaraz.

Alcaraz needs to make at least the semifinals this week to rise above Alexander Zverev to No. 2 in the rankings. Zverev is not playing in Beijing as he recovers from an illness.

Juan Martin del Potro Qualifies for the ATP Finals

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Juan Martin del Potro has earned a spot in the last big tournament of the year…

The 30-year-old Argentine tennis player has qualified for the ATP Finals for the fifth time by beating Karen Khachanov 6-4, 7-6 (4) Wednesday at the China Open.

Juan Martin del Potro

del Potro, who reached the US Openfinal this year, last qualified for the season-ending tournament for the top eight players in the world in 2013.

del Potro will next meet Filip Krajinovic in the quarterfinals in Beijing. Krajinovic defeated Feliciano Lopez 7-6 (5), 6-3.

He was the runner-up in 2009, losing to Nikolay Davydenkoin the finals of the ATP World Tour Finals.

Muguruza Defeats Timea Bacsinszky at the China Open to Claim Second WTA Tour Title

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Garbine Muguruza has returned to the winner’s circle…

The 22-year-old Spanish-Venezuelan professional tennis player claimed her second career WTA Tour title on Sunday, but not without breaking a sweat.

Garbine Muguruza

Muguruza rallied in both sets in the China Open women’s final to defeat Timea Bacsinszky 7-5, 6-4.

Muguruza trailed 5-2 in the opening set before winning five straight games to clinch it, then went down an early break in the second set before coming back yet again.

She’ll rise to a career-high ranking of No. 4 on Monday, while Bacsinszky will break into the top 10 for the first time.

“Definitely it’s a big achievement. I think, you know, to see you are improving, also on the tennis side, but in the rankings, it’s that moment when there’s only three more in front of me,” Muguruza said, smiling. “Three more. Three more.”

Muguruza struggled after her breakthrough performance at Wimbledon—where she reached the finals—losing in the second round of the US Open. But she has played some of her best tennis in the past two weeks. She also reached the final last week in Wuhan, retiring in the second set with a left ankle injury while trailing Venus Williams.

Hours after winning the China Open, Muguruza pulled out of this week’s Hong Kong Open. Organizers said she needed to recover from an ankle problem.

Nadal Ready to Return to Competitive Tennis

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Rafael Nadal is ready to return to the court…

The 28-year-old Spanish tennis star says the injured right wrist that’s left him sidelined for the last two months and caused him to miss the US Open is feeling better and that he’s ready to compete again.

Rafael Nadal

Nadal hasn’t played a match since losing in the fourth round of Wimbledon to Australian Nick Kyrgios. He injured his wrist while practicing on his home island of Mallorca in late July.

He told reporters ahead of the China Open in Beijing on Saturday that while the wrist is not 100 percent, “the injury is not limiting me to compete.”

“I just feel the wrist a little bit when I am starting, when I start to play every day, but then disappears,” he said.

Nadal is seeded second at the tournament behind top-ranked Novak Djokovic.