First-round action at the Beijing ATP 500 wraps up with Daniil Medvedev vs. Pablo Carreno Busta on Friday afternoon. Novak Djokovic plays his second-round match against Chinese wild card Bu Yunchaokete.
(3) Daniil Medvedev vs. (Q) Pablo Carreno Busta
Medvedev heads into the China Open fresh off a title in Hangzhou, where he defeated Andrey Rublev 7-5, 6-4 in Tuesday’s final. That marked the 24th title of Medvedev’s career in a 23rd different city and also his third of the season. The 30-year-old Russian may not be in peak form these days, but he is up to No. 8 in the race to Turin and in position for another Nitto ATP Finals berth.
Up first for Medvedev on Friday is an eighth encounter with Carreno Busta, who trails the head-to-head series 5-2. They have not faced each other since 2021, when Carreno Busta pulled off a quarterfinal upset at the Tokyo Olympics before Medvedev twice got revenge in Cincinnati (6-1, 6-1) and at the Davis Cup Finals (6-2, 7-6(3)). Carreno Busta did well to qualify in Beijing, but the 35-year-old Spaniard is just 1-5 in his last six main-draw matches dating back to Estoril in July. With two full days off in between events, Medvedev should have enough left in the tank to advance with relative ease.
Pick: Medvedev in 2
(WC) Bu Yunchaokete vs. (6) Novak Djokovic
Djokovic arrived in Beijing as a major question mark, having not won a match since the Wimbledon quarterfinals. The 39-year-old, who lost to Jannik Sinner in the semis at the All-England Club, dropped his opening match in Cincinnati (Thiago Agustin Tirante) and suffered an immediate exit at the U.S. Open (Mariano Navone) while looking physically compromised on both occasions. Djokovic was once again less than 100 percent on Wednesday, but he managed to beat Nuno Borges 6-3, 7-6(2).
Up next for the sixth seed on Friday is a first-ever showdown against Bu. The Chinese wild card, who is ranked 104th in the world, treated the home crowd to a 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 victory over Juan Manuel Cerundolo in round one. Bu is now 4-4 at the ATP level this season and 4-2 lifetime in Beijing with a semifinal appearance in 2024. The 24-year-old clearly feels right at home in Beijing; unfortunately for him, so does Djokovic. The Serb is an unbelievable 30-0 all time at this tournament with titles in each of his six previous trips. If Djokovic is anywhere close to 100 percent, he should be on his way to another win.
Pick: Djokovic in 2
WWW?
Joker is 30-0 at this Tourney….WOW!!!!!…..Joker in 2; Med in 2.
first set Boo
Boo, he lost
Plucky effort though. He didn’t just lie down and say, “Here comes Djokovic!”
Just because it’s Djokovic doesn’t mean he has some god given right to win, must get really annoying for his opponents when they get so patronised all the time
So you’re booing?
Same would apply to any all time great playing a lesser player
Yes it would
When it’s an all time great, granted Novak played fantastic, doesn’t mean I have to kiss his feet, or any other all time great
They dont always get patronised, it depends on the player and what country they in.
Many people even commentators love to see an upset . Any player can lose any match on a given day, even Nadal at RG or Djoko at AO. Its what makes it worth watching otherwise there be no point playing the match
Yeah, true. I was glad Bu was competitive because he was a local hope and also underdog here. I thought Zverev would get Djokovic based on current physical condition and form but amazing to see what the 39yo pulled out of his hat. Now will he beat Meddy? Because if he does I reckon he’ll keep his unbeaten record at that tournament and make it 102 titles (apologies to Dalmatians).
That’s why I almost always enjoy it when the less favoured tennis player puts in a solid performance against a big cheese, and mayhaps even gets the upset win! (Especially if the big cheese has a foot-kissing entitlement vibe going, as Djokovic used to have and it annoyed me.)