Alexander Zverev begins his Beijing campaign against Roberto Bautista Agut on Tuesday, while Joao Sousa kicks off his bid in Beijing against Andrey Rublev. Zverev is the tournament’s No. 2 seed behind Juan Martin Del Potro.
(2) Alexander Zverev vs. Roberto Bautista Agut
Alexander Zverev comes into Beijing fresh off a Team Europe victory in Chicago at the Laver Cup exhibition. The German defeated Kevin Anderson in the match that clinched it for Team Europe. Still, Zverev has not played a tour match since he imploded at the U.S. Open in the third round against veteran countryman Philipp Kohlschreiber. His opening-round opponent at the China Open is Spaniard Roberto Buatista Agut, ranked 26th in the world. Bautista Agut had an even more miserable U.S. Open than Zverev did, with a dismal effort against world No. 98 Jason Kubler in the first round. The Spaniard has rallied since, with a semifinal showing in St. Petersburg two weeks ago.
World No. 5 Zverev will come in with relatively fresh legs, and some motivation having lost a couple ranking spots with his early loss in New York and other modest results.
Cheryl pick: Zverev in 2
Ricky pick: Zverev in 2
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Joao Sousa vs. Andrey Rublev
This is only the second-ever meeting between Portugal’s Joao Sousa and Andrey Rublev of Russia. Sousa won their first encounter in St. Petersburg back in 2016, although Rublev was only 18 years old at the time. Sousa has the ranking advantage–sitting at No. 43 to Rublev’s 68th–and the benefit of the Russian’s positively miserable form since he got to the semifinals in Washington, D.C. Rublev has failed to win a single match in four tournaments since.
Cheryl pick: Sousa in 2
Ricky pick: Sousa in 3
[polldaddy poll=10124158]
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2:9 Rublev, 2:0 Sascha