Karen Khachanov reached the final of the tennis tournament in Zhuhai, and Roman Safiullin – in Chengdu

At the first Chinese tournaments of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) after the coronavirus pandemic, Russian athletes reached the finals. In Zhuhai, at a 250 category competition with a prize fund of $1 million, Karen Khachanov will compete for the title, who will play with Japanese Yoshihito Nishioka; at a similar level tournament in Chengdu, where $1.15 million is up for grabs, in the decisive match Roman Safiullin’s opponent will be Alexander Zverev from Germany .

This year, in the APR calendar, two autumn weeks – the last in September and the first in October – are held according to a special schedule. The finals of four tournaments are played not on Saturdays or Sundays, but on Tuesdays or Wednesdays. The APR resorted to this measure for several reasons. Firstly, the weekend before last around the world passed Davis Cup matches of various levels. They employed a large number of tennis players registered for the first Chinese ATP tournaments in Zhuhai and Chengdu after the coronavirus pandemic, not only in the main draws, but also in the qualifications, which start two days earlier than the main competitions. And for the vast majority of these athletes, it would be difficult or even impossible to get to their destination on time, by Monday, and one must also take into account jet lag, which is especially difficult for most Europeans and Americans in East Asia. Secondly, the duration of the Masters 1000 tournament in Shanghai has been increased from seven to twelve days. It will also start midweek and run from October 4 to 15, after which the calendar will return to its normal weekly schedule. Whether the ATP experiment will affect tournament attendance has not yet been calculated. But the fact that it benefited primarily those tennis players who, for one reason or another, were not involved in matches for their national teams, is already obvious.

The clearest proof of this was the successful performance of tennis players from Russia, who, by decision of the International Tennis Federation (ITF) last year, after the outbreak of events in Ukraine, were suspended from the Davis Cup. In Zhuhai, located in southeast China, quality tennis is demonstrated Karen Khachanovwho missed Wimbledon and most of the American Series due to a serious lower back injury, briefly returned to the top ten in the summer and is now ranked 15th.

Compared to the US Open, at the beginning of which Khachanov did not have time to get in shape, this is a completely different player.

In Zhuhai, Khachanov was seeded number one and started from the second round, defeating the little-known Australian Alex Bolt. This was followed by a difficult victory in three sets over the American Mackenzie MacDonald, who is having his best season, and in the semifinals Sebastian Korda, another strong American tennis player, was beaten.

In the lower half of the grid, he stood out for several days in a row Aslan Karatsev, who played three very difficult matches – against Italian Matteo Arnaldi, former world number one Briton Andy Murray and another representative of Great Britain – Cameron Norrie, who was in the top eight a year ago. Before the semi-final against the Japanese Yoshihito Nishioka, the Russian was considered the favorite, but due to fatigue he was unable to cope with his short but fast opponent. Now Khachanov will try to do this, who is 31 positions higher in the ranking than Nishioka, and 28 cm higher in height. The score of their personal meetings is 3:1 in favor of the Russian, but we must take into account that the Japanese, who by the way did not play in the Davis Cup, is excellent has adapted to the heat with high air humidity, which does not subside in Zhuhai even in the evenings, and it will be possible to defeat it only if it is served well.

Meanwhile, in Chengdu, located in a completely different, northwestern part of China, the center of attention was Roman Safiullin – a sensational Wimbledon quarter-finalist, who is now in 55th place in the world classification and for the first time made it to the final of an ATP tournament without losing a single game. Having overcome the resistance of the American Brandon Nakashima, the British Danny Evans and the Australian Jordan Thompson, the Russian reached the semi-final against the famous Italian Lorenzo Musetti, seeded number two – one of the five tennis players who have won against Novak Djokovic himself this year. Meeting with such an opponent undoubtedly posed a danger for Safiullin, but he confidently coped with his task, acting extremely aggressively, taking Musetti’s serve once in each set and not allowing him to earn a single break point. In the title match, Safiullin, who is currently close to the top 40, will play with the main favorite of the tournament, Alexander Zverev. The German, who was absent from the recent Davis Cup away match against the Bosnians, is certainly considered the favourite, although he looked vulnerable at times in Chengdu. And if the Russian manages, as in the match with Musetti, to serve over 200 km/h over and over again, he will certainly have a chance.

Evgeniy Fedyakov