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The singles main draw of the 2023 China Open has been announced. The Beijing tournament is ultra-competitive this year, as all 8 seeds are occupied by top 10 players.
The top four seeds are Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev, Holger Rune, and Stefanos Tsitsipas. The other top 10 players in the ATP 500 event are Andrey Rublev, Jannik Sinner, Casper Ruud, and Alexander Zverev. The draw also features former Grand Slam champion Andy Murray.
Tennis fans were stunned by the strength of the draw, with some calling it the toughest of any 500-level tournament this year. A few fans also felt bad for Murray as he was once again drawn to play Alex de Minaur, who is 2-0 against the Brit this year.
Fans are hoping to see another match between young stars Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, who are drawn in the same half.
"Wow, plenty of high profile match-ups in the 1R itself. The most stacked ATP 500 draw I've seen in years surely," a fan wrote on X.
"AGAIN Andrey and Ugo is in the same quarter," one fan said.
"Wow Medvedev has tough draw, hopefully we see Alca-Sinner match," another fan wrote.
"They give Andy the worst draw every single time, not surprised anymore," one fan wrote.
"Some of these 500s are honestly harder to win than slams," another fan argued.
Here are some more fan reactions to the China Open draw:
The likely matchups at the 2023 China Open
The 2023 China Open, the 22nd edition of the tournament, begins on September 28 and will be played at the National Tennis Center in Beijing, with a total prize pool of $3,633,875.
The winner will earn $679,550 in prize money and 500 ranking points. Former US Open Dominic Thiem won the event last time, defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final.
Top seed Carlos Alcaraz will kick off his first-ever tournament in China against a qualifier. Per seedings, he is projected to face either Karen Khachanov or Lorenzo Musetti in the second round, No. 7 seed Casper Ruud in the quarterfinal and No. 3 seed Holger Rune in the semifinal.
If Alcaraz manages to get past his half, he is projected to come up against No. 2 seed Daniil Medvedev in the final.
Medvedev begins his campaign against Tommy Paul in the first round. He could face Andy Murray or Alex de Minaur in the second round, No. 5 seed Andrey Rublev in the quarterfinal, and No. 8 Alexander Zverev in the semifinal.
Other notable first-round matches at the China Open include Ugo Humbert vs. Lorenzo Sonego, Jannik Sinner vs. Dan Evans, and Holger Rune vs. Felix Auger-Aliassime.
