Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: Jannik Sinner made a quick start in his bid to reclaim the China Open trophy, powering past two-time finalist Marin Cilic 6-2, 6-2 in the first round even as China’s Zhang Zhizhen lost 6-4, 6-2 to France’s Terence Atmane in Beijing on September 25. Competing for the first time since his US Open final defeat to Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, with which he also ceded the No. 1 spot in the ATP Rankings, Sinner bounced back emphatically. The 24-year-old Italian, who triumphed on his Beijing debut in 2023 and reached last year’s final, saved the only break point he faced upon return to the Chinese ATP 500 event, according to Infosys ATP Stats.
Sinner will aim to keep pace in his battle with rival Alcaraz for ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by PIF honours across the remaining months of the season. He trails the Spaniard, who is competing in Tokyo, by 2,590 points in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin. Sinner will next face Terence Atmane for the second time in as many months. The French qualifier earlier defeated Zhang Zhizhen for his first tour-level win since his surprise run to the semi-finals in Cincinnati, where he was halted by Sinner in the pair’s first ATP head-to-head clash.
The opening set went on serve for the first nine games before world No. 68 Atmane broke in the 10th with a forehand winner. In the second set, the Frenchman capitalised on Zhang’s double fault to break in the fourth game, added another break in the eighth, and closed out the match in 71 minutes. Wildcard entrant Zhang, 28, has a career-high ranking of No. 31 and is regarded as China’s most successful male tennis player.
