(source : ANI) ( Photo Credit : ani)
Tennis stars Alex de Minaur, Alexander Zverev, and Jakub Mensik took big steps toward the ATP Finals with strong wins at the China Open in Beijing on Friday.
De Minaur locked in his eighth place in the ATP Live Race to Turin by dominating local favorite Buyunchaokete 6-4, 6-0. The Australian tops the hard-court wins chart with 32 victories this year and eyes a second straight ATP Finals appearance after his debut last season. “I’m feeling good on these courts,” De Minaur might say, building momentum as the season wraps up.
Rising talent Mensik climbed to 18th in the race after edging out Miomir Kecmanovic 7-5, 6-4. He’s 1,115 points behind De Minaur but stays upbeat heading into the ATP season’s end on hard courts. Last year, the young Czech star hit the quarterfinals in his Shanghai Masters debut. This season, he grabbed his first ATP Masters 1000 title in Miami, shocking 24-time Grand Slam king Novak Djokovic in the final.
Up next for De Minaur is a second-round clash with Arthur Rinderknech. The 30-year-old Frenchman bounced back as a lucky loser, beating David Goffin 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 after a qualifying heartbreak.
Mensik faces Arthur Cazaux in round two. Cazaux fought back from a set down to beat China’s wild card Shang Juncheng 0-6, 7-6(5), 7-5.
Zverev kept his Beijing run alive, cruising past Lorenzo Sonego 6-4, 6-3 for a perfect 6-0 head-to-head record. Sitting third in the ATP Live Race to Turin, the two-time ATP Finals champ has reached the semifinals here in three of his last four main-draw trips. Zverev’s steady play makes him a favorite to push deeper.
He’ll meet Corentin Moutet next. The Frenchman carried his Hangzhou semifinal momentum, outlasting Tallon Griekspoor 6-4, 7-5.
Elsewhere, Alexander Bublik dropped to 12th in the race after his Hangzhou title last week. He couldn’t keep it going, falling to Adrian Mannarino 6-3, 6-2 in his China Open opener.
Mannarino now takes on Lorenzo Musetti, who grinded out a 7-6(3), 6-7(4), 6-4 win over Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in a two-hour, 24-minute battle. The 23-year-old Italian, seventh in the ATP Live Race to Turin, shook off a Chengdu final loss earlier this week. Like others, he’s chasing an ATP Finals debut to cap a breakout year.
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