Jannik Sinner has won the China Open title after a breakthrough victory in the final, beating Daniil Medvedev 7-6 (2), 7-6 (2) in Beijing.
The 22-year-old Italian had lost his previous six matches against Medvedev but prevailed here in a little over two hours to claim his ninth career ATP title, and third of the season. Sinner, seeded sixth here, also defeated the No 1 seed, Carlos Alcaraz, for the first time on a hard court with a 7-6 (7-4), 6-1 victory in the semi-final.
“Daniil, thanks for letting me win at least one match,” Sinner said during the trophy ceremony. “We have had some very tough battles, especially this year. Thanks for making me a much better player. I have been training a lot to beat you. My team are working a lot. Thank you very much and it is special to share this moment with you.”
Sinner finished with 29 winners and 13 unforced errors, compared to 26 and 11 for his Russian opponent. Neither player was able to convert a break point, but superior play at the net (winning 23 points to Medvedev’s eight) and in the tie-breaks made the difference for Sinner, who is closing in on a place at the end-of-year ATP Finals.
In the WTA China Open, Iga Swiatek advanced to the quarter-finals with a 6-1, 6-1 victory over her Polish compatriot Magda Linette.
Elena Rybakina overcame a first-set misstep to notch a 2-6, 6-4, 6-1 victory over Mirra Andreeva, while Jelena Ostapenko recorded a 6-4, 6-2 win over the No 4 seed Jessica Pegula.
In the ATP Shanghai Masters, Andy Murray made an early departure after losing 6-3, 6-2 to Roman Safiullin in the first round.
Murray, a three-time former champion in Shanghai, lost his opening service game and then missed chances to quickly break back as Safiullin took a 2-0 lead. The Russian then broke again to clinch the first set 6-3, and a third time to take charge of the second set.
Safiullin was briefly stalled as Murray broke back, but the former world No 1 failed to hold serve at 2-1 down and there was no way back. Serving to stay in the match, Murray netted a routine forehand to gift a match point, then saw Safiullin’s deep return called in after a video review.
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It was another frustrating day for Murray after an early exit from the China Open at the hands of Alex de Minaur. Safiullin, the world No 41, will next play Alexander Zverev in a rematch of last month’s Chengdu Open final, won by the German.
China’s Zhizhen Zhang raced to a 6-1, 6-2 win over Richard Gasquet to earn his first main-draw victory at his hometown tournament. The popular local wild card Buyunchaokete, a 21-year-old who goes by just one name, won his ATP Tour debut after Miomir Kecmanovic was forced to retire from their match.
Cristian Garín of Chile defeated the American qualifier Aleksandar Kovacevic and will next face Medvedev, who received a first-round bye. Sinner will face Marcos Giron after he defeated Colombia’s Daniel Galán in their opening match.