China Open, Beijing, China
Sinner Advances in Beijing; Fritz Ousted in Tokyo
World No. 1 and reigning Australian and US Open winner Jannik Sinner advanced to the second round of the China Open on Thursday, defeating Nicolas Jarry 4-6, 6-3, 6-1.
Needing a tidy one hour and 55 minutes to advance, Sinner struck 15 winners, hit one ace and broke his Chilean opponent on four occasions.
Sinner, who has not competed on Tour since winning in New York, will next face either Stan Wawrinka or Roman Safiullin.
Other winners on the day included Pavel Kotov and Adrian Mannarino. Kotov ousted Yi Zhou 1-6, 6-3, 7-5 and Mannarino defeated Lorenzo Sonego 1-6, 6-2, 6-3.
On the women’s side, US Open semifinalist Karolina Muchova dismissed Anna Blinkova 6-1, 6-1 and Sara Sorribes Tormo needed four hours and 16 minutes to dispatch Xinyu Tao 6-7(4), 7-5, 7-5.
Friday’s action in Beijing will feature No. 2 seed Carlos Alcaraz, No. 4 seed Coco Gauff, No. 3 seed Daniil Medvedev and four-time Major winner Naomi Osaka.
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Kinoshita Group Japan Open Tennis Championships—Tokyo, Japan
Top seed Taylor Fritz crashed out of the opening round of the Japan Open on Thursday, losing to talented Frenchman Arthur Fils 6-4 3-6 6-3 in just over two hours.
Fils, who is currently ranked No. 24 in the world, hit 32 winners and broke his American opponent on two occasions.
Winning the title in Hamburg earlier this year, Fils will next face Matteo Berrettini for a place in the quarterfinals.
Other winners on the day included No. 5 seed Tommy Paul, No. 6 seed Holger Rune, No. 8 seed Ben Shelton, Jack Draper, Kei Nishikori, Tomas Machac, Yoshihito Nishioka and Christopher O’Connell.
Upsets on the day saw Alex Michelsen taking out No. 4 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, and Brandon Nakashima dispatching No. 7 seed Frances Tiafoe 7-5, 6-3.
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