Alcaraz, Medvedev untroubled in 1st round at China Open

BEIJING (AP) — Second-ranked Carlos Alcaraz made a comfortable debut in China on Friday with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over qualifier Yannick Hanfmann in the first round of the China Open.

In his first competitive match since the semifinals of the U.S. Open, the Spaniard traded breaks early before taking control.

"I’m really happy to be able to win this match in straight sets,” Alcaraz said. “I tried to be really focussed on every part of my game. I have to improve a little bit so I’m really happy to do it and have another chance to be better in the next round.”

Alcaraz will next face Lorenzo Musetti, who beat Karen Khachanov 6-3, 1-6, 6-2.

Third-ranked Daniil Medvedev defeated Tommy Paul 6-2, 6-1. The U.S. Open finalist made only three unforced errors in his first visit to China in four years.

“I played great. The start of the match was not easy, but it’s never easy first round, especially in another part of the world," Medvedev said. “Then I was playing better and better during the match, so I’m happy about my level.”

The Russian will next face Alex de Minaur on Saturday.

Third-seeded Holger Rune, fifth-seeded Andriy Rublev, sixth-seeded Jannik Sinner, seventh-seeded Casper Ruud and eighth-seeded Alexander Zverev also won, while fourth-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas was eliminated.

Tsitsipas lost to Nicolas Jarry 6-4, 6-4.

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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis