Novak Djokovic has never lost a match at the China Open, and Monday’s draw gave him little room to ease back in. The six-time champion, playing the ATP 500 event for the first time since 2015, opens against Nuno Borges and landed in the same quarter as top seed Alexander Zverev.
Djokovic is 29-0 in Beijing, according to the ATP’s win-loss records, and is seeded sixth at 39. His only previous meeting with Borges came on the way to his 101st tour-level title in Athens, the ATP said. The winner plays Juan Manuel Cerundolo or Chinese wild card Bu Yunchaokete, and the draw then points to Zverev. Djokovic leads that head-to-head 9-5 and won their most recent meeting, at Roland Garros in 2025.
Zverev’s opener. Zverev plays Cameron Norrie, the British left-hander, in the first round. The ATP says the German has won 46 of his past 47 matches against left-handers. A three-time semi-finalist in Beijing, Zverev won the US Open this month for his second major and arrives from London, where his 7-6(3), 6-3 win over Learner Tien clinched the Laver Cup for Team Europe on Sunday. Shang Juncheng, one of the tournament’s four wild cards, or Sebastian Baez waits in the second round.
The rest of the top half. Third seed Daniil Medvedev beat Zverev in Beijing last year and was the runner-up here in 2023. He opens against a qualifier; the ATP noted he was into the Hangzhou semi-finals when the Beijing draw was made. Eighth seed Jakub Mensik, who won his Laver Cup doubles with Flavio Cobolli on Sunday, starts against Alexander Bublik. Jan-Lennard Struff meets Thiago Agustin Tirante, and Francisco Cerundolo faces a qualifier.
The bottom half. Second seed Felix Auger-Aliassime drew Karen Khachanov, who beat him in the second round of the US Open this month and went on to the semi-finals. Seventh seed Learner Tien, last year’s runner-up to Jannik Sinner, is in the draw on a wild card and opens against Hubert Hurkacz. Chinese wild card Zhang Zhizhen and Arthur Rinderknech each face a qualifier.
Fifth seed Alex de Minaur opens against Mariano Navone and could meet fourth seed Flavio Cobolli in the quarter-finals. Cobolli starts against Roman Safiullin, who is listed in the draw as a special exempt. Ignacio Buse plays Quentin Halys, and Tallon Griekspoor meets Andrey Rublev.
What is at stake. Sinner, the world No. 1, won Beijing last year and withdrew from this year’s event last week. The ATP said he will drop the 500 points from that title, which gives Zverev a chance to cut into Sinner’s lead in the race for year-end No. 1. Cobolli sits fifth in the Live Race to Turin and is chasing a first Nitto ATP Finals place, according to the ATP. Our guide to the Race to Turin explains how the eight places are decided.
Format and schedule. The singles draw has 32 players and eight seeds, so no one receives a bye. Qualifying runs Monday and Tuesday, and main-draw play begins Wednesday, September 30, with the final on October 6. Play starts at 11 a.m. local time on the first two days of the main draw, the ATP said. The four singles wild cards went to Shang, Bu, Zhang and Tien. The women’s WTA 1000 event runs alongside it at the National Tennis Center through October 11; our China Open guide covers both draws, prize money and how to watch.
First round. Top half: Zverev (1) v Norrie; Shang (WC) v Baez; J.M. Cerundolo v Bu (WC); Borges v Djokovic (6); Medvedev (3) v qualifier; Struff v Tirante; qualifier v F. Cerundolo; Bublik v Mensik (8). Bottom half: de Minaur (5) v Navone; Buse v Halys; Griekspoor v Rublev; Safiullin (SE) v Cobolli (4); Tien (7, WC) v Hurkacz; Zhang (WC) v qualifier; qualifier v Rinderknech; Khachanov v Auger-Aliassime (2).
