Big-serving Alexander Zverev trounced home hopeful Shang Juncheng 6-0, 6-3 at the China Open on Saturday to set up a quarter-final clash with Novak Djokovic, while Elena Rybakina was stunned on her opener in Beijing. The German top seed needed just 55 minutes to brush aside the Chinese wildcard, ranked 250th, firing nine aces along the way.
“Happy with the win,” the world’s second-ranked player said, adding that his 21-year-old opponent had been “dangerous” and had “nothing to lose”. “Looking forward to the next couple of weeks,” Zverev said ahead of his tie with Djokovic — who has never lost a match in Beijing — on Sunday.
Big-serving Alexander Zverev trounced home hopeful Shang Juncheng 6-0, 6-3 at the China Open on Saturday to set up a quarter-final clash with Novak Djokovic, while Elena Rybakina was stunned on her opener in Beijing.
The Italian won in Beijing last year but is not there this time around. He said on Saturday that he would not play at next week’s Shanghai Masters either. But again, I have a tough challenge tomorrow, and that’s my focus,” he said.
“I know what I’m playing for. I know I’m very, very motivated to play at the moment. 1. Also in the men’s draw, third seed Daniil Medvedev eased into the quarter-finals with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff to play Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo. The 27-year-old from Kazakhstan was playing her first match since seizing the top ranking on her US Open win in New York, but Armenia’s Charaeva triumphed 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 in a clinical comeback. Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen rebuked rowdy fans at her home tournament before opponent Anna Kalinskaya retired with injury to give the Chinese player a 6-7 (4/7), 6-4, 3-0 victory.
“I think it’s no secret that it’s a goal, for sure,” Zverev told reporters when asked about the battle for No. “I thought the first set in particular was really difficult,” Zheng told the crowd in an on-court interview after the two-hour-and-22-minute match.
