CHENGDU, September 18, 2023 (Press Release)
After a three-year hiatus, the ATP Asian Swing is once again set to commence with the ATP 250 Chengdu Open 2023, which will be contested from 20 to 26 September 2023 at the Sichuan International Tennis Centre located in the Shuangliu province of Chengdu.
Held at the stadium at 4pm this afternoon, the main draw ceremony was officiated by ATP Supervisor Hans-Jürgen Ochs, along with guests of honour ATP Tour Manager Arnau Brugues, Tournament Director Luiz Carvalho and Bai Lei, Secretary of the Party Committee and Executive Director of Sichuan Investment International Tennis Center Development Co. Ltd.
The main draw features three players inside the top 20 of the world rankings, with German World No. 10 Alexander Zverev the top seed, Italy’s World No. 18 rising star Lorenzo Musetti seeded second and Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov seeded third with a current ranking of No. 20. Great Britain’s Daniel Evans is the fourth seed at a ranking of No. 27.
Former World No. 2 Zverev and former World No. 3 Dimitrov have once again found themselves in the same half of the draw, with the two having already met three times on tour this year, including in their previous two tournaments. The 26-year-old German defeated Dimitrov en route to the semifinals of the Cincinnati Masters in August, while also knocking out the Bulgarian during his quarterfinal run at the US Open earlier this month.
Seeded fifth is Kazakhstan’s World No. 29 Alexander Bublik, who faces an early test against US-American Marcos Giron in the first round, against whom he has lost two of their three past meetings, most recently on the clay courts of Geneva this past May.
Sixth seeded Australian Max Purcell will start his Chengdu Open campaign against compatriot Jordan Thompson. The duo have already clashed twice this year, with World No. 56 Thompson prevailing at the Gwangju Open Challenger and world No. 43 Purcell turning the tables a few weeks later at the French Open.
Serbia’s World No. 47 Miomir Kecmanovic, the seventh seed, will commence his campaign against a qualifier while eight seeded Australian Aleksandar Vukic, who reached his career high of No.48 in mid-August, has a first-time meeting against Japanese Taro Daniel in the first round.
Singles wild card recipient Zizou Bergs of Belgium was on hand to draw the names during the ceremony today and drew himself a stern first round challenge in the form of Serbia’s Dusan Lajovic. The 24-year-old World No. 172 has five career Challenger titles, with the latest coming on the clay courts of Tallahassee in April this year.
“I don’t know (Lajovic) personally but I have seen him play a few times. I am just happy to be here in Chengdu and make my first visit to China. I am grateful to the IMG team and Luiz (Carvalho) for giving me the wildcard and it will be a good opportunity for me to prove myself against Lajovic in the first round,” said Bergs.
The two other singles main draw wild cards were bestowed to local up-and-coming players. Twenty-three-year-old Mu Tao, who reached a career high ranking of No. 509 in June this year, will make his debut in an ATP Tour level tournament against France’s Corentin Moutet, while 25-year-old World No. 528 Cui Jie will meet Peru’s Juan Pablo Varillas in the first round.
Ready to kick off! #ChengduOpen pic.twitter.com/b3Us7AA5Qr
— Chengdu Open (@ChengduOpen) September 18, 2023
Two local wildcard pairings of Li Wenfu-Yang Mingyuan and Wang Aoran-Cui Jie will participate in the doubles main draw, with Li additionally provided a wild card in the singles qualifying rounds, along with 23-year-old Xiao Linang.
Chengdu Open doubles main draw set
The doubles main draw was also held today, with French top seeds Sadio Doumbia and Fabien Reboul meeting Dutch pair Robin Haase and Bart Stevens in the first round. The second seeded Portuguese-Brazilian tandem of Francisco Cabral and Rafael Matos will face Aussie duo Christopher O’Connell and Aleksander Vukic in their opening match.
#ChengduOpen’s Main Draw Doubles pic.twitter.com/yveidlaoxB
— Chengdu Open (@ChengduOpen) September 18, 2023
“It’s very exciting to be back after so long, as the first Chinese event to open the Asian Swing. It is a good opportunity for us to put on a thrilling show for Chengdu fans who have been looking forward to watching world-class tennis again. We have a great draw with some very good players and I am looking forward to a solid week ahead,” said Tournament Director Carvalho.
Qualifying rounds kick off Tuesday at 11am on Centre Court, with the tournament organisers offering free entry for tomorrow’s matches. Tickets for main draw matches start from RMB50 for first round matches and may be purchased here.
