ATP Tour

De Minaur dominant, Cobolli falls: Mixed day for Turin hopefuls in Beijing

Alex de Minaur enjoyed a commanding start to his China Open campaign on Thursday in Beijing, where he is chasing a significant boost to his Nitto ATP Finals qualification chances.

The fifth-seeded Australian downed Mariano Navone 7-6(4), 6-2 at the hard-court ATP 500, where he reached the semi-finals in 2025. De Minaur crucially saved nine of 10 break points he faced against Argentina’s Navone, according to Infosys ATP Stats, to wrap a one-hour, 55-minute victory.

Chasing his third consecutive appearance at the season-ending Nitto ATP Finals, De Minaur has risen two spots to 11th in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin after his first-round victory against Navone. The 27-year-old, who has notched a Tour-leading 62 ATP 500 match wins since the start of 2023, will play Quentin Halys in the second round in Beijing, after the Frenchman sank Ignacio Buse 6-1, 7-6(3).

“In my mind I've got my tournaments to play. The way I look at it is if I have good results, then I'll be in the conversation,” De Minaur said, when asked about the potential of reaching Turin. “If not, then I won't. It's as simple as that. It's a little bit up to me.

“I'm not looking at the numbers every day, what needs to happen. I know that if I can have good results, then I'm going to have a good chance. So that's what I'm trying to do: focus on myself.”

Jakub Mensik is immediately behind De Minaur in the Live Race, after also rising two spots on Thursday by overcoming Alexander Bublik 6-4, 7-6(5). The 21-year-old Czech, who has earned a personal-best 34 tour-level wins this year and is chasing a Nitto ATP Finals debut, will next play Francisco Cerundolo in Beijing after the Argentine saw off Botic van de Zandschulp 5-7, 6-4, 6-3.

Flavio Cobolli suffered a setback to his Turin hopes after Roman Safiullin delivered a 6-3, 6-2 upset against the Italian. Cobolli remains fifth in the Live Race, and will hope to bounce back quickly from his Beijing disappointment with a deep run at the upcoming Rolex Shanghai Masters. The World No. 84 Safiullin will now prepare for a second-round clash with Andrey Rublev. Rublev backed up his run to the Hangzhou final with a 6-4, 5-7, 7-6(6) triumph against Tallon Griekspoor in Beijing.

Meanwhile De Minaur was left as the only seeded player remaining in the bottom half of the Beijing draw after Hubert Hurkacz rallied to a 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 upset against Learner Tien. By defeating the seventh-seeded Tien, former Top-10 star Hurkacz set a second-round meeting with qualifier Arthur Gea.