Alexander Zverev, who has already claimed two "Slams" in 2026, opened the tournament in Beijing with a confident victory over Cameron Norrie — 7:6, 6:4. In the absence of Jannik Sinner, who withdrew due to injury, the German tennis player, ranked second, has been given a rare chance to close the gap on the leader.
The victory did not come easily: in the first set the Briton had a set point, but Zverev escaped in the tie-break, where he converted all seven of his mini-breaks. In the second set he broke his opponent's serve at the decisive moment. Matches like this resemble a game of chess, where one wrong move can cost the entire game, and psychological resilience becomes the chief weapon.
Zverev leads the season in hard-court wins — already 28. This is not merely a statistic but a reflection of his adaptation to fast surfaces after the European tournaments. Having flown to China just two days before the match after the Laver Cup, he noted that he had expected the worst, but the level of play turned out to be high. Such a schedule is a typical trap for athletes, where travel fatigue and the change of surfaces test not only the body but also mental endurance.
In the next round he will face the Chinese player Shang Juncheng — a home favourite who battled through qualifying himself. For Zverev this is a chance not only to gain points but also to win the sympathies of the local public in a country where tennis is growing rapidly. Meanwhile, in Tokyo, Carlos Alcaraz, despite dropping two sets, also advanced, showing that even top players are not immune to fluctuations in form during the Asian stage of the season.
Sinner's absence changes the balance of power: the German can gain points that the Italian will be forced to defend later. This is a classic situation where the absence of one favourite opens a window for another — as in business, where a competitor's departure allows one to capture market share. Zverev is already close to the top spot, and Beijing could become a key step on that path.
Ultimately, the Asian swing of 2026 is turning into not just a set of tournaments but an arena where it is decided who will become the year's leading player. For Zverev, every victory is not only ranking points but also confirmation that his season is still far from over.
