Match Preview
Tokyo Draw: Fritz meets Fils, Turin hopefuls study fates
ATP 500 hard-court occasion begins Wednesday
September 23, 2024
Corinne Dubreuil/ATP Tour
Taylor Fritz is the highest seed in Tokyo.
By ATP Employees
High seed Taylor Fritz will face #NextGenATP Frenchman Arthur Fils in a blockbuster first-round spherical match on the Kinoshita Group Japan Open Tennis Championships, the place a number of stars will intention for deep runs to spice up their Nitto ATP Finals hopes.
The American is a former champion on the ATP 500 in Tokyo, lifting the trophy in 2022. The 26-year-old, who superior to the ultimate on the US Open earlier this month, arrives in Tokyo fifth within the PIF ATP Reside Race To Turin.
If Fritz overcomes Fils, he might play former High 10 star Matteo Berrettini within the second spherical. The Italian, who has gained three tour-level titles this yr, will face a qualifier in his first match following Monday’s draw.
View Tokyo Draw
Second seed Hubert Hurkacz, third seed Casper Ruud, fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas and fifth seed Tommy Paul are all in Nitto ATP Finals competition and take to courtroom in Tokyo.
Hurkacz will intention to report his first match win in Tokyo on his third try when he meets Marcos Giron within the first spherical and will play US Open semi-finalist Jack Draper within the second spherical. The British lefty, presently at a career-high No. 20 within the PIF ATP Rankings, begins in opposition to a qualifier.
Casper Ruud, who’s sixth within the PIF ATP Reside Race To Turin, faces Jordan Thompson, with sixth seed Holger Rune a possible quarter-final opponent. Ruud is in the identical half as Fritz. Within the backside half of the draw, Stefanos Tsitsipas begins in opposition to a qualifier and is seeded to play Paul within the final eight. Paul takes on Matteo Arnaldi within the first spherical.
Dwelling favorite Kei Nishikori is a two-time Tokyo champion. The Japanese wild card performs former World No. 3 Marin Cilic within the first spherical. Nishikori leads the Croatian 9-6 within the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head sequence, with their earlier assembly coming on the US Open in 2018.
Seventh seed Frances Tiafoe performs former Subsequent Gen ATP Finals introduced by PIF champion Brandon Nakashima within the first spherical, whereas eighth seed Ben Shelton takes on American Reilly Opelka. Japanese wild card Yoshihito Nishioka faces Felix Auger-Aliassime, whereas final yr’s semi-finalist Shintaro Mochizuki performs Ugo Humbert.
The hard-court occasion begins on Wednesday.
