The 2017 edition of the China Open is loaded. The event has never been so competitive before. Yes, Beijing will be without its defending champion Andy Murray, and its most successful champion, Novak Djokovic (who has won four titles here in the last five years), but still the tournament has managed to load it with stars: four players in the top 10, four more in the top 20, plus Juan Martin del Potro, who is ranked outside the top 20 but is among the favorites to win the title after his semifinal showing at the U.S. Open. With most of the world’s best players playing the China Open, fans can be assured of intriguing matches and entertainment throughout the week.
The competition in the 32-player main draw begins on Monday, October 2.
Event Details
Event: China Open
Category: ATP World Tour – 500 Series
Date: October 2 -8, 2017
Location: National Tennis Center – Beijing, China
With a prize money allotment of just over 3 million dollars, the 500-point tournament doubles the prize money of the Japan Open, held in Tokyo at this same week on the tennis calendar. That’s a rather staggering reality to contemplate, that two ATP 500 events can have that kind of disparity in prize money. It does speak to the China Open’s prestige, as does the quality of the field for this year’s event.
Points
Champion – 500
Runner-up – 300
Semifinal – 180
Quarterfinal – 90
Round of 16 – 45
Former Champions and Results (5 Years)
Year Champion Runner-up Score
2016 – Andy Murray def. Grigor Dimitrov – 6-4, 7-6
2015 – Novak Djokovic def. Rafael Nadal – 6-2, 6-2
2014 – Novak Djokovic def. Tomas Berdych – 6-0, 6-2
2013 – Novak Djokovic def. Rafael Nadal – 6-3, 6-4
2012 – Novak Djokovic def. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga – 7-6, 6-2
Player Info:
Rafael Nadal has won five titles this season– two majors, two Masters 1000s, and one ATP 500 – but it doesn’t mean he’s satisfied and is going to take things lightly. With Nadal, you can be sure he is going to try just as hard to triumph in China as he did at the U.S. Open or at Roland Garros or in Monte Carlo. Nadal wants to build a massive lead over his great rival Roger Federer and end the year as the No. 1 player.
Alexander Zverev missed a great chance to go deep in a major tournament at the U.S. Open. However, he is just 20 years of age and is surely good enough to create opportunities for himself in the future. Last week, Zverev played the Laver Cup, an exhibition event in Prague. Although an exhibition, he had a fruitful time beating future star Denis Shapovalov and veteran Sam Querrey in routine fashion.
In the ongoing tournament in Shenzhen, he had a tough time getting past Steve Darcis in the opening round. Zverev not only displayed skill but showed tremendous resolve to hang in and finish the job in three fiercely contested sets. Zverev will be the second seed in Beijing. It remains to be seen if he plays like one.
Grigor Dimitrov has equaled his best ranking this week. The Bulgarian is ranked eighth in the world and is trying to climb even higher. The Masters 1000 win in Cincinnati propelled Dimitrov back to the top 10, but he didn’t live up to his billing at the U.S. Open, where he was shockingly booted out by the emerging next generation star Andre Rublev in straight sets in the second round.
Dimitrov hasn’t played since that loss but when he returns to action, he would like to play with the same confidence he displayed in Cincinnati. He was runner-up to Murray last year at this tournament and is defending 300 points.
Few tennis bettors would have predicted Pablo Carreno Busta to break into the top 10 this year. With five of the top 10 players missing from the U.S. Open, he made most of his opportunity and made his own luck. The Spaniard deserves a lot of credit for that. Carreno Busta is underrated and often goes unnoticed, but with his new career high ranking, he’ll be one of the focal points in Beijing.
National Tennis Center
The host stadium for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the clean and polished facility doesn’t lag behind a lot of other tennis complexes in the world. The main stadium court is ample and spacious with great sight lines. It has a large court surface so that players can run deep into the corners, behind the baselines, and wide of the sidelines without having to worry about tumbling into seats or running into walls.
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