World number two Alexander Zverev beat Cameron Norrie 7-6 (1), 6-4 to kick-start his bid for the China Open on Thursday.<\/p>\n
The 29-year-old is the top seed in Beijing after world number one Jannik Sinner<\/a>, the reigning champion, withdrew due to injury.<\/p>\n Zverev<\/a> hit 15 aces but did not have it all his own way against<\/a> Norrie<\/a>, ranked 40th, who had some joy pushing the German around the court.<\/p>\n The Briton came within a point of winning the first set, but the US Open champion closed out the game and capitalised in the tiebreak when Norrie fired long.<\/p>\n Zverev was similarly clinical in the second set, which followed serve until he broke Norrie in the 10th game to take match point at the first time of asking.<\/p>\n He will play Shang Juncheng<\/a> of China\u00a0in the second round.<\/p>\n “I’m really surprised and really happy with how I played,” said Zverev, who only arrived in China from Europe two days ago after helping Team Europe to the Laver Cup.<\/p>\n Also on Thursday, Russia’s Roman Safiullin<\/a> upset Italy’s Flavio Cobolli<\/a>, brushing aside the French Open finalist<\/a> 6-3, 6-2 to set up a second-round tie against countryman\u00a0Andrey Rublev<\/a>.<\/p>\n Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz<\/a> ousted American Learner Tien<\/a>, who reached last year’s final, 5-7, 6-3, 6-4<\/a> for a second-round meeting with French qualifier Arthur Gea.<\/p>\n Follow the men’s side in Beijing here.<\/a><\/p>\n In the women’s draw, Zheng Qinwen<\/a> needed two hours and 44 minutes to hold off world number 231 Shi Han<\/a> in the first round, beating her compatriot 7-6 (6), 4-6, 6-2.<\/a><\/p>\n Both women struggled to win points on the sun-baked side of a split-screen court, but the Paris Olympic champion fought through 44 unforced errors to earn a meeting with Russia’s Anna Kalinskaya<\/a>.<\/p>\n Zheng, the current world number 54, has struggled with form since needing elbow surgery last year, although she made the US Open quarter-finals as a qualifier.<\/p>\n