Yuki Bhambri aims to qualify for the ATP China Open in Beijing

India’s top ranked tennis player Yuki Bhambri will play American Donald Young in the first round of qualifying for the ATP China Open in Beijing tomorrow. This is the first time that the 20 year old Bhambri is playing in an ATP 500 series event, although he has played at the ATP Masters 1000 series and Grand Slams earlier.

23 year old Young has struggled in 2012, winning only 4 matches in 23 events, At one stretch, he lost 17 matches in a row and is severly short of confidence. The American is ranked 124th in the latest world rankings compared to Bhambri’s 177th rank, although Young was ranked inside the top 40 in the beginning of the year. Young has been involved in several run-ins with the USTA who want him to move away from his parents coaching and let the USTA coaches play a more active role in his development

The two players have never met before on the tour. Players need to win two matches to qualify for the main draw. The winner of the Bhambri-Young match could meet Brian Baker, the top seed in the qualifying draw, in the second round.

World no. 1 Novak Djokovic heads the field in the main draw and is also joined by world no. 5 David Ferrer and world no. 6 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the main draw.