Medvedev triumphs over Monfils in Beijing, Draper upsets Hurkacz in Japan
BEIJING: Daniil Medvedev smoothly navigated a tricky opening match at the China Open on Friday, defeating French veteran Gael Monfils 6-3, 6-4. The third-seeded Medvedev, who was runner-up to Jannik Sinner in last year’s tournament, broke Monfils’ serve three times in a commanding first set.
After exchanging breaks in a more competitive second set, the former World No. 1 clinched the match with another service break, sealing the win in 92 minutes.
Roman Safiullin, who made the main draw as a lucky loser in qualifying, defeated three-time major champion Stan Wawrinka 6-3, 6-4. Safiullin will now face top-seeded Jannik Sinner.
No. 2 seed Carlos Alcaraz, ranked third in the world, begins his campaign against Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, ranked 51st, later on Friday.
In the women’s draw, sixth-seeded Emma Navarro was upset by Chinese wildcard Zhang Shuai 6-4, 6-2 in 75 minutes. Zhang, a 35-year-old doubles specialist, played above her current singles ranking of No. 595, converting five of her seven breakpoint chances against the US Open semi-finalist. Zhang will next play Greet Minnen of Belgium, who defeated 28th-seeded Anastasia Potapova 7-5, 2-6, 6-4 in the third round.
Additionally, 12th-seeded Diana Shnaider overcame former Australian Open winner Sofia Kenin 6-2, 6-3, while Yuliia Starodubtseva comfortably beat 27th-seeded Katerina Siniakova 6-2, 6-2.
Second-seeded Jessica Pegula was scheduled to open her tournament later on Friday against France’s Diane Parry, with Coco Gauff facing Clara Burel in a night match. US Open champion Aryna Sabalenka will play on Saturday against Thai qualifier Mananchaya Sawangkaew. Top-ranked Iga Swiatek is not participating this week due to personal reasons.
Japan Open
Second-seeded Hubert Hurkacz was upset 6-4, 6-4 by US Open semi-finalist Jack Draper in the second round in Tokyo, following a day in which top-seeded Taylor Fritz and third-seeded Casper Ruud were eliminated from the tournament.
Though Draper and Hurkacz were evenly matched in terms of aces and winners, Hurkacz’s 30 unforced errors, compared to Draper’s 20, proved costly. Draper will next face either Brandon Nakashima or Ugo Humbert in the quarter-finals.
Defending champion Ben Shelton also advanced to the quarter-finals, beating Mariano Navone 6-4, 6-3. Shelton, along with Fritz, travelled to Japan from Berlin, where they competed in the Laver Cup for Team World, losing to Team Europe led by Carlos Alcaraz.