Seeds Carlos Alcaraz and Andrey Rublev will headline the conclusion of second-round action at the ATP 500 in Beijing on Sunday. Alcaraz is going up against Tallon Griekspoor; Rublev is facing Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
Tallon Griekspoor vs. (2) Carlos Alcaraz
Alcaraz and Griekspoor will be meeting for the sixth time in their careers when they battle for a quarterfinal spot at the China Open on Sunday. The head-to-head series stands at 4-1 in favor of Alcaraz, including 3-0 on the main tour. He has won four in a row at Griekspoor’s expense and is 9-0 in total sets during this stretch.
It’s hard to envision a different result in this one, as early returns suggest that Alcaraz is motivated for the home stretch of the season. The third-ranked Spaniard won’t be satisfied with his current ranking and he certainly can’t be happy with a second-round exit from the U.S. Open. He clinched the Laver Cup for Team Europe last weekend and opened in Beijing with a 6-4, 6-4 defeat of Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard. Griekspoor scraped past Miomir Kecmanovic 6-7(3), 6-4, 6-3, but the Dutchman has slipped to 39th in the world and is a disappointing 6-10 in his last 16 matches. Alcaraz should roll into the quarters.
Pick: Alcaraz in 2
(4) Andrey Rublev vs. Alejandro Davidovich Fokina
In what is another lopsided matchup, Rublev will try to maintain his mastery of Davidovich Fokina. They have squared off on four previous occasions and all four matches have gone Rublev’s way–including the last two in straight sets. Their most recent encounter came this spring on the red clay of Madrid, where the Russian prevailed 7-6(10), 6-4 on his eventual way to a surprising title.
This up-and-down year has been somewhat of an all-or-nothing situation for Rublev. The world No. 6 has suffered an alarming number of early losses, but when he sinks his teeth into an event he can do some real damage. Rublev reached another Masters 1000 final in Montreal this summer before falling to Alexei Popyrin. An opening win in Tokyo over Pablo Carreno Busta on Friday (6-0, 4-6, 6-4) should have the fourth seed feeling like it could be another big week. Davidovich Fokina did well to beat Hangzhou runner-up Zhizhen Zhang, but the 64th-ranked Spaniard is still 1-3 in his last four matches. All signs point to him taking another loss at Rublev’s hands.
Pick: Rublev in 2
