Hangzhou, September 16 (Chinanews.com) (Guo Tianqi) – On September 16, the highly anticipated 2024 Hangzhou Open, an ATP250 event, held its singles main draw ceremony in Hangzhou, Zhejiang. The draw revealed that Chinese tennis stars Zhang Zhizhen and Wu Yibing will be matched against qualifiers in their first-round encounters. Top-seeded players such as Rune (No. 1 seed), Khachanov (No. 2 seed), Echeverri (No. 3 seed), and Brandon Nakajima (No. 4 seed) have all secured byes in the initial round.

A photograph from the draw ceremony provided by the event organizers illustrates the excitement surrounding the tournament.

From 2024 onward, Hangzhou will join the prestigious ATP Tour family by hosting ATP250-level events. The Hangzhou Open will feature a comprehensive lineup of 28 singles main draws, 16 singles pre-draws, and 16 doubles main draws, with athletes vying for a substantial prize pool exceeding $1 million.

In this tournament, the top two seeds, Rune and Khachanov, are strategically placed in the upper and lower halves of the main draw, respectively, both enjoying byes in the first round. Similarly, the third seed Echeverri and fourth seed Brandon Nakajima also benefit from first-round byes. Notably, Grand Slam champion Cilic finds himself in the upper half and is set to face American player Shvajda in his opening match.

Chinese tennis players will play a significant role in this event. Zhang Zhizhen, celebrated as the men’s singles champion of the Hangzhou Asian Games and the silver medalist in mixed doubles tennis at the Paris Olympics, enters the competition as the No. 6 seed. He will challenge a qualifying player in his first-round match, with No. 3 seed Echeverri being his potential opponent in later rounds.

Wu Yibing, who made history as the first ATP Tour singles champion from mainland China and is a native of Hangzhou, is positioned in the upper half of the draw. He too will face a qualifier in the first round and, should he advance, will compete against No. 4 seed Brandon Nakajima in the second round. Another Chinese player, Buyun Chaoket, is set to compete against Frenchman Gaston in his first-round match. If successful, Chaoket will face No. 2 seed Khachanov next.

The schedule for this prestigious tournament spans from September 17 to September 24 and will be hosted at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center Tennis Center. The singles preliminaries commence on September 17, followed by seven days of intense main competition. The semi-finals are slated for September 23, with the finals concluding the event on September 24. Zhang Zhizhen and Wu Yibing, who have garnered significant attention from fans and media alike, are scheduled to compete on September 19.

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