Alexander Zverev and Felix Auger-Aliassime are set for a blockbuster second-round battle on Thursday in Beijing. Meanwhile, Nikoloz Basilashvili is continuing his title defense at this 500-point tournament against Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Felix Auger-Aliassime vs. (2) Alexander Zverev
Zverev needs to make a late push if he wants a shot at defending his 2018 Nitto ATP Finals title, and Laver Cup heroics may propel him to do just that. The sixth-ranked German won the deciding match of that team competition 6-4, 3-6, 10-4 over Milos Raonic to begin his fall swing in style on the heels of a mostly disappointing summer. Zverev, who is 11th in the race to London but can climb to No. 7 by winning the China Open, beat Frances Tiafoe 6-3, 6-2 in this week’s opener.
Up next for the No. 2 seed on Thursday is a Auger-Aliassime, who lost their only previous meeting 6-1, 6-4 earlier this season on the red clay of Monte-Carlo. The 19-year-old Canadian was on fire this spring and on grass this summer, but he appears to have hit the wall toward the end of a long 2019 campaign. He is just 1-4 in his last five matches since reaching the third round in front of the home crowd in Montreal. Auger-Aliassime at least managed to defeat Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-3, 6-4 on Tuesday, but an inspired Zverev is obviously a whole different beast.
Pick: Zverev in 2
[polldaddy poll=10423036]
Nikoloz Basilashvili vs. (3) Stefanos Tsitsipas
Tsitsipas and Basilashvili will also be going head-to-head for the second time in their careers on Thursday. Their only previous encounter came at the Australian Open in January, when Tsitsipas prevailed 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(7), 6-4 on his eventual way to the semifinals. Not too much unlike Zverev, however, the seventh-ranked Greek has cooled off bigtime since the French Open. His only productive result since then is a semifinal showing in Washington, D.C. and he had lost five ATP tournament matches in a row prior to this week. Tsitsipas mercifully ended that skid by beating Dusan Lajovic 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in his Beijing opener.
Basilashvili is the defending champion, having knocked off Juan Martin Del Potro in last year’s final. The 17th-ranked Georgian has advanced multiple rounds at four of his last five events, a stretch that includes a repeat title on the clay courts of Hamburg. Basilashvili took care of an in-form Guido Pella 6-4, 7-6(3) on Tuesday, so he has a clear edge over Tsitsipas in current form and obviously feels comfortable in Beijing.
Pick: Basilashvili in 3
[polldaddy poll=10423034]
WWW?
Zv in 2; Tpas in 3.
Zverev in two ,Basilbash in three.
Sasha in two, Tsitsipas in three.
My money is and will always be with FDblA! This kid is Now/Future H.O.F. Just ask Nadal and Feder Our King of Kings! (For life)…
Future, maybe. Now, not so much.
I wonder if FAA is currently suffering from something-to-lose syndrome. There’s a little Q&A session from Laver Cup between Roger and Rafa on Youtube, where Roger asks Rafa if he was nervous before facing him for the first time. Rafa smiles and says no, he was more excited than nervous. He had nothing to lose at that point.
Its all to do with pressure at a young age. ‘Next Gen’ is a load of crap.
Both Sasha and Tsitsipas benefited from Fedal coaching at Laver Cup it seems. Both of them doing well at Beijing, I was surprised by Tsitsipas’s straight sets win over Isner and he was able to break Isner’s serves.
I think the next gen players of Medvedev, Sasha and Tsitsipas are the most promising ones; not sure of FAA yet.