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• Gauff sees off Burel on return in China

  Coco Gauff prevailed in her opening match at the China Open, beating Clara Burel in straight sets on Friday to reach the third round.

  Playing in her first match since her US Open fourth-round exit, Gauff held off the Frenchwoman's challenge, winning 7-5 6-3 in 102 minutes.

  The pair traded breaks early in the contest before Burel pulled in front and looked sure to take the first set.

  Gauff pushed back though, saving a set point at 5-4 before eventually edging in front with her fourth break of the set.

  It was slightly more straightforward in the second, with Gauff's patience eventually rewarded as a three-game winning streak at the end of the match sealed the victory, setting up a meeting with Katie Boulter in the next round. 

  Data Debrief: Hard court advantage

  With this victory, Gauff has now won 46 matches at WTA-1000 hard-court events, equalling Caroline Wozniacki for the most such wins before turning 21 since the format was introduced in 2009 (46).

  It also marks Gauff's 30th straight win over a player ranked outside the top 50, with her last such defeat coming 15 months ago in the first round of Wimbledon 2023 against Sofia Kenin. 

• Home favourite Zhang stuns Navarro in huge China Open upset

  World number 595 Zhang Shuai stunned US Open semi-finalist Emma Navarro at the China Open on Friday, just two days after ending a 603-day winless streak.

  Zhang ended a 24-match losing run – which began after the Lyon Open in 2023 – by beating American McCartney Kessler 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-1) in her Beijing opener on Wednesday.

  That long-awaited victory teed up a clash with world number eight Navarro, who Zhang beat 6-4 6-2 in a major upset in front of a jubilant crowd in the Chinese capital.

  Zhang, who is the lowest-ranked player to ever compete in the main draw at the WTA 1000 event, got to the net on her second match point to smash a forehand winner past Navarro, teeing up a meeting with Belgium's Greet Minnen for Sunday.

  Data Debrief: Beijing witnesses historic upset

  Ranked a lowly 595th in the world, Zhang has become the lowest-ranked player to defeat a top-10 player at the China Open since the tournament's 2004 inception.

  She had also won her most recent meeting with a top-10 player, beating Caroline Garcia in Tokyo back in 2022. 

• Alcaraz beats Perricard in first Beijing assignment

  Carlos Alcaraz beat big-serving Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in straight sets to advance to the second round of the China Open on Friday.

  Breaks in the opening games of each set put Alcaraz on course for a 6-4 6-4 win in his opening match at the ATP 500-level event in Beijing, where he was on court for 81 minutes.

  Perricard won 81% of points behind his first serve, displaying impressive firepower after those early wobbles, but Alcaraz was never unduly threatened after surviving some early pressure on his own serve. 

  The Spaniard only dropped one point through his final three service games as he cruised to victory, teeing up a second-round match against Tallon Griekspoor.

  Meanwhile, last year's runner-up Daniil Medvedev also made a confident start in the Chinese capital, downing Gael Monfils 6-3 6-4 in 92 minutes.

  Medvedev converted five of his 10 opportunities to break, taking advantage of an inconsistent performance from Monfils as the Frenchman committed 46 unforced errors.

  The Russian, who lost to Jannik Sinner in last year's China Open final, will face Adrian Mannarino in the second round.

  Data Debrief: Medvedev's slow pace

  Medvedev's victory over Monfils was his 40th in 56 matches in 2024. Only in 2018 (61 matches) did he require more outings to bring up his first 40 wins of a season.

  But back at an event where he went agonisingly close to glory last year, Medvedev produced a composed performance, offering up just 22 unforced errors.