Jannik Sinner defends his title at the ATP 500 in Beijing

Good start. Jannik Sinner defeated Nicolas Jarry on his debut in the ATP 500 in Beijing, which marked his rise to number one in the ATP rankings last year. He lost the first set, as happened against McDonald in the first round of the US Open. In the last two tournaments played and won (Cincinnati and US Open), Sinner has only lost 4 sets out of a total of 33. Let’s see how his path continues in China. Who will Sinner play? The defending champion of the ATP 500 in Beijing, Jannik Sinner, will face the winner between Roman Safiullin (who replaced Struff) and Stan Wawrinka. The Russian is number 69 in the world, the Swiss is 234th. Sinner has defeated Safiullin twice, this year it would be the first time. The record against Wawrinka is 2 Swiss wins followed by 4 Italian wins. When does Sinner play? The exact date of Sinner’s second game is not yet known. Since Safiullin and Wawrinka play on Friday, the game will take place on the weekend. A morning engagement is more likely on Sunday than Saturday. Remember that Beijing is eight hours ahead, so 8 hours must be added to Italian time to understand the local time at which the Italian athletes will play. The Sinner tableau The possible meeting with Grigor Dimitrov, who withdrew and was replaced by Arthur Rinderknech, is no longer applicable. In the further event of a win and reaching the quarterfinals, Sinner could face the winner between Jiri Lehecka (who beat Pedro Martinez) and either Roberto Bautista Agut and Rinderknech (tomorrow). In the semi-finals he could face the fourth seed (who will face Pablo Carreno Busta and possibly one of Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and Zhizhen Zhang), whom he may first face in the quarter-finals against Lorenzo Musetti (against Zizou Bergs, then Juncheng Shang). /Yunchaokete Bu). On the other side of the table is the special observer Carlos Alcaraz, given the withdrawal of Alexander Zverev and the absence of Novak Djokovic, from where his mental and sporting rise to number one in the ATP rankings began on October 4, 2023, defeating him in the final for the first time Daniil Medvedev, who had been his feared opponent until then, had the same result. A complete turnaround, so much so that Sinner has won six of the last seven meetings between the two. The impact on the rankings was visible: he remained firmly at the top and weathered the storm of criticism for not taking part in the Olympics and the doping case. Sinner returns to where he discovered he was great. The other Italians in China Another three Italians also qualified for the ATP 500 in Beijing. Lorenzo Sonego lost 2-1 to Frenchman Adrian Mannarino. On Thursday, September 26th, Flavio Cobolli will also take on Kazakh Alexander Bublik (2:30 p.m. Italian time). Lorenzo Musetti (defeated in the final of the Chengdu Open), number 6 seed, will have to wait until Friday September 27 to face Belgian Zizou Bergs (4 a.m. Italian time), who has qualified. Musetti is on the same side of the table as Sinner, Cobolli and Sonego on Carlos Alcaraz’s side. Fabio Fognini failed to qualify and lost 2-1 to Arthur Rinderknech. The Italians in Japan During the same period (September 25th – October 1st), the ATP 500 in Tokyo, Japan, is also on the calendar. The top seed in this tournament was Taylor Fritz (defeated by Arthur Fils), followed by Hubert Hurkacz and Casper Ruud. Among the Italians, only Matteo Berrettini, who won 2-0 and will face Fils on Friday, has won. Botic van de Zandschulp. Luciano Darderi (eliminated in the first round by Mariano Navone), Matteo Arnaldi (Tommy Paul) and Mattia Bellucci (Jack Draper) were defeated. Luca Nardi was eliminated in qualifying by Botic van de Zandschulp. Remember that Tokyo is nine hours ahead, so 9 hours must be added to Italian time to understand the local time at which the Italian athletes will play. The doubles in competition The doubles are also in action this week. In Japan, Luciano Darderi and Tomas Martin Etcheverry will play against Alex Michelsen and Alejandro Tabilo on Friday September 27th (matches from 3 a.m. Italian time). Games are also scheduled in Beijing on Friday, September 27th: from 4 a.m. the matches of Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori (seeded players) against Aoran Wang and Yi Zhou, Flavio Cobolli and Lorenzo Musetti against Neal Skupski and Michael Venus planned. The women’s WTA tour includes the China Open in Beijing. There are four athletes among the Italians competing in this 1000m tournament. The spotlight is on Jasmine Paolini (number three seed), who had a bye for the first round and meets Clare Tauson on her way. The Paris gold medalist in doubles with Sara Errani can achieve her best ranking if she overtakes Rybakina to fourth place in the rankings if she reaches the semi-finals. Marta Trevisan (against Taylor Townsead) and Lucia Bronzetti (against Naomi Osaka) have already been eliminated. Elisabetta Cocciaretto defeated Arina Rodionova and will play against Elise Mertens. The ranking and the points to be dropped by the end of the year Sinner currently has 11,180 points in the ATP rankings, followed by Zverev (not in Beijing), who has 6,875 points. After New York, Sascha is Sinner’s first rival. The German gained two places at the US Open and will defend 1,335 points fewer than Jannik by the end of the season. Tournament ranking 2024 Sinner: 9000 points; Zverev: 6105 points; Alcaraz: 6010 points; Djokovic: 3260 points; Medvedev: 4420 points. Points to be deleted by the end of the year Sinner: 2180 points; Zverev: 770 points; Alcaraz: 680 points; Djokovic: 2300 points; Medvedev: 1055 points. ATP 500 BEIJING Sinner: Champion 2023, points to defend 500; Djokovic: not in action this week, points to defend 0; Alcaraz: 2023 semi-finalist, points to defend 180; Medvedev: finalist 2023, points to defend 300; Zverev: semi-finalist 2023, points to be defended 180 (deleted). Where you can watch the Beijing ATP on TV and streaming, the Beijing ATP 500 can be seen on Sky Sport Tennis, Sky Sport Uno, Sky Sport Max. And streaming on NOW, Sky Go, Sky Sport Plus, NOW Extra Match, TennisTV. The next commitments of Jannik Masters 1000 Shanghai: 2nd-13th October (eliminated in the round of 16 last year) Six Kings Slam (exhibition): 16-19. October ATP 500 Vienna: 21st-27th October (defending champion, already announced he will not take part) Masters 1000 Bercy: October 28th – November 3rd (withdrew before the round of 16 last year) ATP Finals Nitto: October 10th-17th November (lost in the final last year) Davis Cup Finals: 19-24 November