The 2016 edition of the China Open suffered a major blow. Defending champion Novak Djokovic pulled out of Beijing with an elbow injury. Djokovic has the sole ownership of the event, where he has won four consecutive titles and six of seven, and has won 29 matches in a row. Djokovic has the biggest fan base in Asia and will be sorely missed, but still there is enough star power to attract large crowds.
The competition in the 32-player main draw begins on Monday, October 3.
Event Details
Event: China Open
Category: ATP World Tour – 500 Series
Date: October 3 -9 , 2016
Location: National Tennis Center – Beijing, China
With a prize money allotment of just over 2.9 million dollars, the 500-point tournament more than 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.
The points structure under the ATP system is that the championship means 500 points. A runner-up finish is worth 300. A semifinal result is 180 points, and a quarterfinal appearance offers 90 points. A round-of-16 results provides 45 points.
Former Champions and Results (5 Years)
Year Champion Runner-up Score
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
2011 – Tomas Berdych def. Marin Cilic – 3-6, 6-4, 6-1
Player Info:
Here’s a look at four of the more notable players in the field:
Andy Murray has been named the Scottish sportsperson of the year. It has been an incredible season for Murray, reaching the final round in Melbourne and Paris, winning Wimbledon and retaining his Olympic title. The quarterfinal loss to Kei Nishikori at the U.S. Open was a mere aberration if you look at Murray’s overall statistics this year. He is easily the second best player in the world, composing an impressive 55-9 record and four titles this season. He is the top seed and will lead the star-studded field in Djokovic’s absence in Beijing. The two-time Olympic gold medalist has no ranking points to defend in the event in China. Analysts don’t exactly know the nature of Djokovic’s injury and for how long he is sidelined. In that case, if Murray can attain top form, he has an outside chance of dethroning Djokovic by the end of the year.
Rafa Nadal is busy practicing in his academy in Manacor, Spain and will be seen on the ATP Tour for the first time since his devastating five-set loss to Lucas Pouille in the fourth round of the U.S. Open. The Spaniard admitted to the media that his 2016 campaign was complicated especially because he got injured during the most important tournament for him– the French Open. It makes things even tougher. He had a good comeback playing great tennis in Rio, but his level slightly dropped in New York. Nadal also said his goal is to try to recover his level, to feel ready to play his best tennis. Nadal is a decent 37-12 on the year with two titles. The nine-time French Open winner was demolished in straights sets last year at this event by Djokovic, but with his main rival absent, he would fancy himself to go one step beyond a runner-up plate.
Milos Raonic is currently experiencing a lull. He was ousted by Mikhail Youzhny in three tight sets in the second round of the St. Petersburg Open. The world No. 6 was the second seed in Russia but lost 250 points for his horror show and now has lost three of his last four matches on the ATP Tour. Last year, Raonic won the St. Petersburg title and was bounced out in the first round by Viktor Troicki. Can he reverse his results by winning the China Open this year?
For Domnic Thiem, the word ‘rest’ doesn’t exist. He is getting used to the grind of the ATP Tour and is loving it. While many of the top-10 players did not yet hit the tour after the U.S. Open, he has already played in Metz (250) and is alive in Chengdu, another 250 event. The lucrative tournaments in Asia are proving to be irresistible for the man who has already played over 70 matches this season. Thiem is currently in the seventh place in the ATP race to London rankings and with another week in China, he has a chance to climb up the ladder.
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.
