Second-round action in Hangzhou will wrap up on Saturday, when Yoshihito Nishioka goes up against Marin Cilic. In Chengdu, Roman Safiullin and Jerry Shang are battling for a place in the quarterfinals.
Hangzhou Open: (WC) Marin Cilic vs. (8) Yoshihito Nishioka
Cilic picked up his first ATP-level win since January of 2023 when he defeated Zachary Svajda 5-7, 6-3, 6-0 in the Hangzhou opening round. The 35-year-old Croat played only two matches last season and was also sidelined from mid-February until late August of this 2024 campaign due to knee surgery. Prior to arriving in Hangzhou, Cilic played two hard-court Challengers and reached the Manacor second round (lost to Duje Ajdukovic in three sets) and the Cassis quarterfinals (lost to world No. 531 Adria Soriano Barrera in straight sets).
A steep step up in competition on Saturday comes in the form of Nishioka, who is ranked 54th and captured the Atlanta title this summer. Each of his other two titles came on the Asian swing (2018 and 2022), so the Japanese left-hander is clearly comfortable in this setting. Nishioka opened with a 6-4, 6-2 rout of Maximilian Marterer and should be able to make similarly quick work of Cilic.
Pick: Nishioka in 2
Chengdu Open: (8) Roman Safiullin vs. Jerry Shang
Shang is China’s top prospect in the men’s game. In fact, at 19 years old, he is already a current star as opposed to just a star of the future. Shang is already up to No. 67 in the world and he has earned 20 of his 24 lifetime ATP match wins in 2024. His hard-court summer included a semifinal run in Atlanta and a third-round showing at the U.S. Open (lost to Casper Ruud in five sets). The lefty’s fine form continued with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Kei Nishikori in the Chengdu first round.
Up next for Shang on Saturday is a second meeting with Safiullin. They previously faced each other at the 2022 Lexington Challenger, where Shang prevailed 0-6, 6-4, 7-5–and that was when he was only 17 years old. There is no reason to think Safiullin will be able to turn the tide now. The 56th-ranked Russian is a disappointing 13-20 on the main tour this season even after beating Fabio Fognini 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 on Thursday. Count on Shang surging into the quarterfinals in front of the home crowd.
Pick: Shang in 2
