Novak Djokovic, the No. 6 seed from Serbia, defeated Portugal's Nuno Borges 6-3, 7-6 (2) in the first round of the Beijing Open on Wednesday. Djokovic, a six-time champion of this tournament, recorded eight aces and saved both break points he faced, completing the match in one hour and 51 minutes. He will face Chinese wild card Yunchaokete Bu in the second round, who won against Argentina's Juan Manuel Cerundolo 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 in two hours and 19 minutes.
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In an upset, Russia’s Karen Khachanov triumphed over No. 2 seed Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada, winning 6-3, 6-3 in just 72 minutes. Also advancing in straight sets were French qualifier Arthur Gea and Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff. Notably, Italy's Jannik Sinner, the 2023 and 2025 champion, is absent due to a knee injury, while Spain's Carlos Alcaraz, the top seed this week, is competing in Tokyo.
At the Japan Open Tennis Championships, Chile’s Alejandro Tabilo delivered a swift 6-1, 6-2 victory over No. 7 seed Tommy Paul in 74 minutes. Tabilo converted five of eight break points and capitalized on six double faults by Paul, who only won 55% of the points on his first serve. Tabilo will meet the winner of the match between Canada’s Denis Shapovalov and Japanese wild card Sho Shimabukuro.
Italy’s Matteo Arnaldi secured a second-round matchup with top-seeded Carlos Alcaraz by coming back to win against Japanese wild card Rei Sakamoto, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4. No. 8 seed Valentin Vacherot from Monaco narrowly defeated Belgium’s Alexander Blockx 7-6 (2), 7-6 (4) in just over two hours, while qualifier Arthur Fils won 6-3, 6-2 against fellow Frenchman Luca Van Assche.