By ASSOCIATED PRESS
BEIJING (AP) — Top-ranked Jannik Sinner overcame a scare from Nicolas Jarry to begin his defense of the China Open title with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 first-round victory on Thursday, Sept. 26.
The Italian extended his win streak to 12 after titles at Cincinnati and the U.S. Open, his second Grand Slam title this year. Sinner’s record over the past 52 weeks stands at 76-6.
Jarry won their only previous match on grass in 2019 at ’s-Hertogenbosch and the Chilean overpowered Sinner in the first set in Beijing with 11 winners.
“In the first set I was struggling to return his serve and he broke me,” Sinner said. “I just tried to stay there mentally. The first round at any tournament is never easy and playing against him is very tough. But I am happy about the performance and how I ended the match.”
Sinner raised his game to level the sets and broke Jarry twice in a dominant third set. He next faced wild card Stan Wawrinka or lucky loser Roman Safiullin.
Adrian Mannarino also rallied from a set down to beat Lorenzo Sonego 1-6, 6-2, 6-3 for his 300th win on tour, 16 years after his first.
No. 3-ranked Carlos Alcaraz, seeded second in Beijing, begins against No. 51 Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard of France on Friday.
Winners of women’s first-round matches included Kamilla Rakhimova, Croatian qualifier Jana Fett, Camilla Osorio, Elisabetta Cocciaretto, and Nadia Podoroska.
The 32 seeds received first-round byes, including U.S. Open champion and top seed Aryna Sabalenka.
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek was not playing this week for personal reasons.
Japan Open
Top-seeded Taylor Fritz was upset by No. 24-ranked Arthur Fils of France 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in Tokyo.
Fils peeled off 32 winners in a power-hitting display against Fritz, who made his first Grand Slam singles final at the U.S. Open this month. Fils has former top-10 player Matteo Berrettini in the second round.
Defending champion Ben Shelton shook off a rusty first set to beat countryman Reilly Opelka 3-6, 6-1, 6-4. Shelton, along with Fritz, came from the Laver Cup in Berlin where they represented Team World in a loss to Alcaraz’s Team Europe.
“I felt like I was struggling a little bit and getting rhythm,” the eighth-seeded Shelton said. “Reilly was serving and returning extremely well.”
No. 12-ranked Stefanos Tsitsipas, who was at the Laver Cup for Team Europe, lost to Alex Michelsen of the U.S. 4-6, 6-1, 6-2.
Brandon Nakashima won another all-American tie against U.S. Open semifinalist Frances Tiafoe 7-5, 6-3. Nakashima, ranked 36th, fired 12 aces.
Fifth-seeded Tommy Paul rolled to a 6-3, 6-2 win over Italy’s Matteo Arnaldi. Other winners included U.S. Open semifinalist Jack Draper, Tomas Machac, and Yoshihito Nishioka, who outlasted Felix Auger-Aliassime 7-6 (5), 3-6, 7-6 (5) in a three-hour match.
