The Beijing field was absolutely stacked from the start and nothing has changed heading into the quarterfinals on Monday. Carlos Alcaraz aces familiar foe Casper Ruud, while Grigor Dimitrov challenges Jannik Sinner.
(1) Carlos Alcaraz vs. (7) Casper Ruud
It will be a rematch of the 2022 U.S. Open final when Alcaraz and Ruud meet again in the China Open quarterfinals on Monday. Last summer they not only battled for the trophy in New York but also for the No. 1 ranking, and Alcaraz took home all the spoils with a 6-4, 2-6, 7-6(1), 6-3 victory. The 20-year-old Spaniard leads the head-to-head series 3-0, having also prevailed on the red clay of Marbella in 2021 and in the Miami final in 2022.
Ruud will probably have a difficult time turning the tide in Beijing. The 24-year-old Norwegian has dropped back to No. 9 in the rankings because of what has been a relatively underwhelming season aside from another Grand Slam runner-up performance (French Open). He needed two hours and 59 minutes to outlast Tomas Martin Etcheverry 1-6, 7-5, 7-6(7) on Sunday, which certainly is not ideal preparation for this one. Alcaraz, on the other hand, earned his quarterfinal spot by erasing both Yannick Hanfmann and Lorenzo Musetti in easy straight sets. All signs point to a mostly routine win for the 20-year-old.
Pick: Alcaraz in 2
Grigor Dimitrov vs. (6) Jannik Sinner
Alcaraz and Sinner faced each other in back-to-back semifinals at Masters 1000 events in Indian Wells and Miami. Since then, though, there have been no more chapters of one of tennis’ most entertaining rivalries. We could finally see it again on Tuesday, but Dimitrov–just like Ruud–will have other ideas. The 32-year-old Bulgarian has been in stellar form this season and it has continued with Beijing victories over Mackenzie McDonald and Holger Rune.
Dimitrov is 1-1 lifetime against Sinner, having scored a 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 win at the 2020 Rome Masters before falling 6-3, 6-4 earlier this season in Miami. Sinner is an incredible 46-13 for his 2023 campaign and is on the verge of clinching a place in the Nitto ATP Finals (joining Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic, and Daniil Medvedev). The seventh-ranked Italian captured two fall-swing titles in 2021 (Sofia, Antwerp) and he is three victories away from another one following defeats of Dan Evans and Yoshihito Nishioka earlier this week. Sinner was especially dominant against Nishioka, crushing the Japanese left-hander 6-2, 6-0 on Sunday. This should be a high-quality contest, but Beijing’s No. 6 seed will likely have too much firepower for Dimitrov.
Pick: Sinner in 2
WWW?