Beijing beef: ATP 500 event is a buffet of riches

Because of the coronavirus pandemic, the China Open has been on a three-year hiatus. There was no tournament in 2020, 2021, or 2022, but this year’s return to the ATP Tour schedule should be well worth the wait.

The Beijing field is absolutely loaded, featuring eight of the top 10 players in the world. Alex de Minaur is ranked 12th and is unseeded at this 500-point event. Tommy Paul, Karen Khachanov, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Cameron Norrie, Lorenzo Musetti, Grigor Dimitrov, and Andy Murray are also floating around in the draw without a seed.

Beijing’s seeded contingent is headlined by Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev, Holger Rune, and Stefanos Tsitsipas. In a field of 32 there are no opening-round byes, so there isn’t any real advantage to being a 1-4 seed as opposed to 5-8 aside from being the highest-ranked player in a certain quarter of the bracket. The 5-8 group includes Andrey Rublev, Jannik Sinner, Casper Ruud, and Alexander Zverev.

Medvedev’s path to the title is especially difficult. The world No. 3 will kick off his campaign against Paul and would then have to get past either De Minaur or Murray prior to the quarterfinals. As if that isn’t enough, Rublev would likely be up next in an all-Russian affair. Possible semifinal foes for Medvedev are Zverev (who just won the Chengdu title), Stefanos Tsitsipas, and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. 

At the top of the bracket, Alcaraz will make his Beijing debut against qualifier before possibly going up against Khachanov or Musetti. Khachanov’s return from a back injury has suddenly taken flight, as he lifted the Zhuhai trophy on Tuesday. Alcaraz vs. Sinner is a potential semifinal showdown, and the sixth-seeded Italian is arguably the only player this week who actually has a favorable draw.

[yop_poll id=”571″]