In the Beijing opening, Sinner takes on a former finalist

At the China Open, Jannik Sinner will play Marin Cilic for the first time since losing to Carlos Alcaraz in the US Open final. After Tuesday's draw, the top-seeded Italian, who is leading the field in Beijing, found out his fate.

Having won the championship in 2023, Sinner has pleasant recollections of the ATP 500 hard-court competition. The 24-year-old, who is 37-5 on the season based on the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index, might face home wild card Zhang Zhizhen in the second round after facing 2011 finalist Cilic in his opening round.

No. 10 in the world,  Sinner's opponent in the quarterfinals is Karen Khachanov, and in the semifinals, he may play either third seed Alex de Minaur or seventh seed Jakub Mensik. Miami titlist Mensik faces Miomir Kecmanovic in the opening round, while De Minaur, who is vying for his second ATP 500 title of the year (Washington), starts against Buyunchaokete of China.

Second seed Alexander Zverev faces Lorenzo Sonego in the opening round in the bottom half, and he may face Daniil Medvedev again in the quarterfinals. In their Lexus ATP Head2Head series, Medvedev leads Zverev 13-7 and faces Cameron Norrie in the opening match. Zverev has advanced to the semifinals three times, and Medvedev made it to the Beijing final in 2023.

Zverev's half also includes Alexander Bublik, fourth seed Lorenzo Musetti, and sixth seed Andrey Rublev. Rublev faces Flavio Cobolli, while Musetti, who is in the Chengdu final, faces big-serving Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in the opening round. To increase their chances of qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals, Musetti, Rublev, and Bublik will look to make deep runs in China.