Zhuhai and Chengdu previews and predictions

The Andy Murray comeback tour continues as the Asian swing begins this week in Zhuhai and Chengdu. Murray is taking the court in Zhuhai, which is making its debut on the ATP schedule after taking over from Shenzhen. The world No. 413 is joined in the field by victorious Laver Cup participant Stefanos Tsitsipas, Roberto Bautista Agut, St. Petersburg runner-up Borna Coric, Gael Monfils, and Roberto Bautista Agut. In Chengdu, John Isner, Felix Auger-Aliassime, and U.S. Open semifinalist Grigor Dimitrov are among those in action.

Huajin Securities Zhuhai Championships

Where: Zhuhai, China
Surface: Hard
Prize money: $931,335
Points: 250

Top seed: Stefanos Tsitsipas
Defending champion: Inaugural event

Draw analysis: Asian-swing tournaments are often wide open, especially at the 250-point level, and this one is no exception. Murray can make some real noise if a lot of things go right, but his draw is a difficult one. The 32-year-old Scot will play a second consecutive ATP match against Tennys Sandgren, having lost to Sandgren 7-6(8), 7-5 in the Winston-Salem first round to conclude his hard-court summer. Murray’s path to the semis could also include Coric and Alex de Minaur, while Bautista Agut and Kyrgios are in the other section of the bottom half.

Monfils probably has the best draw of anyone. Following a first-round bye, the recent U.S. Open quarterfinalist will open with Cameron Norrie for possibly facing either Albert Ramos-Vinolas, Miomir Kecmanovic, or Casper Ruud. Tsitsipas is on a collision course with Metz semifinalist Lucas Pouille for the quarterfinals. The seventh-ranked Greek has not won an ATP tournament match since Washington, D.C.

First-round upset alert: Yoshihito Nishioka over (8) Albert Ramos-Vinolas. Ramos-Vinolas may be the seeded player in this match, but Nishioka is probably the favorite in reality. The world No. 60 from Japan is basically the defending champion of this tournament, having captured his lone career ATP title last year in Shenzhen. Nishioka is also coming off a summer in which he reached the Washington, D.C. third round and made a run to the Cincinnati quarterfinals as a qualifier.

Hot: Gael Monfils, Alex de Minaur, Tennys Sandgren, Soonwoo Kwon, Casper Ruud, Dominik Koepfer

Cold: Stefanos Tsitsipas, Andy Murray

Semifinal predictions: Yoshihito Nishioka over Lucas Pouille and Alex de Minaur over Roberto Bautista Agut

Final: Nishioka over de Minaur

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Chengdu Open

Where: Chengdu, China
Surface: Hard
Prize Money: $1,096,575
Points: 250

Top seed: John Isner
2018 champion: Bernard Tomic (not playing)

Draw analysis: Isner indicated earlier in the summer that he may shut down his season after the U.S. Open. Instead, the 6’10’’ American suited up for the Laver Cup and now finds himself in Asia. Isner should be able to win his Chengdu opener against either Egor Gerasimov or Zhe Li before potentially running into Team World teammate Denis Shapovalov. Fernando Verdasco, Pablo Carreno Busta, and Metz semifinalist Benoit Paire are also part of the top half.

It will be especially interesting to see how Auger-Aliassime and Dimitrov fare. Auger-Aliassime has been a disaster since losing at home in Montreal to Karen Khachanov, seemingly bogged down by the wright of a such a long season. The Canadian may have a tough opener on his hands, too, against either Hyeon Chung or Joao Sousa. Dimitrov knows a thing or two about ending slumps, having just made a run to the U.S. Open semis from completely out of nowhere. The 26^th-ranked Bulgarian does not have an easy draw, opening with an in-form Dan Evans prior to a potential date with an even more confident Taylor Fritz.

First-round upset alert: Juan Ignacio Londero vs. (5) Dusan Lajovic. Lajovic is ranked 29^th in the world largely thanks to his shocking runner-up performance at the Monte-Carlo Masters. Other than that, Londero has enjoyed the more solid season from start to finish. Both players are at their best on clay, so the surface advantage does not go to anyone. A considerable edge in current form goes to Londero, who has won his opening match at five consecutive tournaments. Lajovic, on the other hand, has lost three of his last four openers.

Hot: Taylor Fritz, Kamil Majchrzak, Juan Ignacio Londero, Dan Evans, Jordan Thompson, Egor Gerasimov

Cold: Felix Auger-Aliassime, Kyle Edmund

Semifinal predictions: Benoit Paire over Denis Shapovalov and Taylor Fritz over Hyeon Chung

Final: Fritz over Paire

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