Alexander Zverev began his China Open campaign with a straight-sets victory over Cameron Norrie in Beijing.
The world number two beat the British player 7-6 (1), 6-4 in the first round. Zverev, the top seed following Jannik Sinner’s withdrawal through injury, hit 15 aces during the match.
Norrie, ranked 40th in the world, put Zverev under pressure in the opening set and came close to taking it. However, Zverev held his nerve and dominated the tie-break before breaking Norrie in the final game of the second set to seal victory.
Zverev, who only arrived in China two days earlier after helping Team Europe win the Laver Cup, said he was pleased with his performance.
He will face either China’s Shang Juncheng or Argentina’s Sebastian Baez in the second round.
Elsewhere, Roman Safiullin produced an upset by beating Italy’s Flavio Cobolli 6-3, 6-2. Cobolli, a French Open finalist, was unable to find a way past the Russian, who will next face either Tallon Griekspoor or Andrey Rublev.
In the women’s draw, home favourite Zheng Qinwen also reached the second round after a hard-fought victory over compatriot Shi Han.
The Olympic champion needed two hours and 44 minutes to beat the world number 231, winning 7-6 (6), 4-6, 6-2.
Zheng, currently ranked 54th in the world, will face Russia’s Anna Kalinskaya in the next round.
