Scouting Report: Musetti and Rune in Chengdu and Hangzhou; Top 10 stars in Laver Cup | ATP Tour

Scouting Report

Scouting Report: Musetti and Rune take part in Chengdu and Hangzhou; Top 10 stars at the Laver Cup

Everything fans need to know about this week’s tournaments

September 16, 2024

The ATP Tour’s Asian swing kicks off on Wednesday with the ATP 250 hard-court tournaments at the Chengdu Open and Hangzhou Open. Meanwhile, the seventh edition of the Laver Cup will take place in Berlin, Germany, from 20 to 22 September.

Italian Lorenzo Musetti is the top seed in Chengdu, where Nicolas Jarry and Alexander Bublik will also be on the cards. Rune will be the top seed in Hangzhou. Chinese stars Zhizhen Zhang, Shang Juncheng, Wu Yibing and Bu Yunchaokete will be the local hopes at both tournaments.

ATPTour.com looks at five things to watch from each of the three tournaments:

FIVE THINGS TO FOLLOW IN CHENGDU
1) Musetti could revive his chances of being in Turin: Lorenzo Musetti arrives on the hard courts of Chengdu with a chance of qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals still in the running. The Italian is No. 15 in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, the highest-ranked player competing this week, but he is 1,080 points behind eighth-place Alex de Minaur. If Musetti wants to continue climbing the rankings, he will need to put in a strong performance in Chengdu, where he was a semi-finalist last year.

2) Shang is the local hope; Nishikori, guest: #NextGenATP Chinaman Shang Juncheng is enjoying a breakout season, highlighted by semi-final runs in Hong Kong and Atlanta. The 19-year-old left-hander is hoping to put in a strong performance in front of the home fans and consolidate his third spot in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah. Shang, who is currently one spot off his career-best ranking of No. 67, will be attempting to qualify for the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF in December for the first time.

Japan’s Kei Nishikori will also be in Chengdu after receiving a wild card. The 34-year-old achieved his best result of the season last month in Montreal, where he reached his first ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final since 2019. Nishikori will face Shang in an interesting first-round match.

3) Bublik will try to add one more title: Second seed Alexander Bublik returns to Chengdu for the third time, having already won on his debut in 2019. The 29-year-old from Kazakhstan has won three of his four titles on hard courts, including earlier this year in Montpellier.

4) Can Jarry end his negative streak? Nicolás Jarry has not been in his best form lately, racking up seven straight losses. The Chilean is seeking his first win since reaching the final in Rome in May, and will do so against either Australian Adam Walton or Slovakian Lukas Klein in his first encounter.

5) Doumbia/Reboul lead the doubles draw:Defending champions Sadio Doumbia and Fabien Reboul return to Chengdu as the favourites and will be looking to win their third title of the season as a team. Ivan Dodig and Rafael Matos are the second favourites.

FIVE THINGS TO FOLLOW IN HANGZHOU
1) Rune is the main favorite: Holger Rune returns to action for the first time since losing his opening match at the US Open, looking to revive his hopes of making the Nitto ATP Finals next November. The Dane, currently ranked No. 16 in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, has a 15-8 record on hard courts this year, highlighted by a semi-final run in Cincinnati and a final in Brisbane.

2) Khachanov and Etcheverry, among the favorites: Second seed Karen Khachanov lifted the trophy at the ATP 250 in Zhuhai, where the tournament was held before it was relocated to Hangzhou in 2024. The 28-year-old is chasing a second title of the year, having won on the hard courts of Doha. Third seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry comes in after helping Argentina reach the Davis Cup Final 8. At 25, he is in the same half of the draw as Khachanov.

3) Can Nakashima maintain his level? Former Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF champion Brandon Nakashima has had a strong North American tour, claiming victories over Top 20 stars Taylor Fritz, Tommy Paul, Holger Rune and Lorenzo Musetti in three different tournaments. The American, who reached the fourth round of the US Open, also won all three of his Davis Cup Group Stage matches last week and will now look to build on his ATP Tour form with a shot at another crown starting in San Diego 2022. He sits at a career-high No. 39 in the PIF ATP Rankings.

4) Chinese hopes: Sixth seed Zhizhen Zhang and wild cards Wu Yibibg and Bu Yunchaokete will be looking to do well on home soil. Zhang, who starts against a qualifier, was forced to retire in the first round of the US Open against Jack Draper but is now ready to compete again. His best result this year on hard courts came in Marseille, where he reached the quarter-finals.

Wu became the first Chinese ATP Tour champion when he won the 2023 Dallas Open but has struggled with injuries since then. The Hangzhou-born player returned from injury last month in China, where he won an ATP Challenger Tour event. Bu, 22, has won two Challenger titles in 2024 and qualified for the US Open last month (l. to Casper Ruud).

5) Cilic returns: Marin Cilic plays his first ATP Tour tournament since Buenos Aires in February. The 35-year-old Croatian, who has won 15 of his 20 titles on hard courts, faces American Zachary Svajda in the first round.

FIVE THINGS TO WATCH OUT FOR IN THE LAVER CUP
1) Top 10 Talent:Team Europe features Top 10 players Alexander Zverev, Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev, Casper Ruud and Grigor Dimitrov, while No. 7 Taylor Fritz will be the Top 10 player playing for Team World.

2) The World Team defends its title: The World Team has won the title in the last two editions (2022-23). ​​In Berlin they will try to add another trophy to their showcase.

3) Laver Cup Debutants: Alcaraz, Thanasi Kokkinakis and Alejandro Tabilo are the three players who will be competing in this competition for the first time when they do so in Berlin. Kokkinakis was part of the World Team in 2017, but did not play.

4) Borg and McEnroe, captains for the last time: Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe will captain their teams for the seventh and final time. Team Europe is led by Borg and has four titles to its name, while Team World, with McEnroe on the bench, has won in 2022 and 2023. In May, the names of Yannick Noah and Andre Agassi were announced as the next captains of Team Europe and Team World, respectively.

5) Unique format: The Laver Cup is played over three days, from 20 to 22 September, in five sessions. Each match is worth one point on Friday, two points on Saturday and three points on Sunday. The first team to score 13 points (out of a possible 24) wins the Laver Cup.