Beijing: Khachanov stuns Auger-Aliassime in straight sets

Karen Khachanov opened the China Open week with its heaviest blow: the Russian beat Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-3 6-3 in the round of 32 of the ATP 500 event in Beijing. The Canadian is No. 5 in the ATP rankings, Khachanov is No. 26: on paper a huge gap, yet on the Chinese hard courts it looked like the opposite.

According to the ATP's report, Khachanov finished the match in just over 70 minutes without facing a single break point. It is his 18th career win over a Top 10 player, a figure that shows how far the Russian can raise his level when a top opponent stands across the net.

The match follows directly from what happened a few weeks ago in New York. At the US Open, in the second round, Khachanov beat Auger-Aliassime in four sets, 6-7(5) 6-3 6-2 6-2, and that win started a run to the semifinals, stopped by Alexander Zverev 6-3 7-6 7-6. Repeating it so soon is never a given.

After Beijing the head-to-head reads 4-2 for Khachanov, again according to the ATP. Two wins in quick succession, both on hard courts, describe a tactical match that suits the Russian: heavy serve, forehand to take control of the rally and little appetite for handing rhythm to an opponent who lives on spin and sudden accelerations.

For Auger-Aliassime the defeat is a step back in a season finale that promised much. The Canadian is No. 5 with 3,900 points, 660 behind Carlos Alcaraz and 170 ahead of Daniil Medvedev, and has 990 points to defend over the next six weeks. Losing first up in Beijing does not help, and he will have to get back to work straight away.

His 2026 remains solid all the same. He has won six and lost four of his last ten matches, and in July he touched No. 4, his best ranking. This summer he reached the Wimbledon quarterfinals, where he lost to Novak Djokovic 7-6(10) 3-6 6-3 6-7(4) 7-6(4) after a five-set battle, and the last 16 in Cincinnati.

Khachanov, meanwhile, rises to 1,835 points as No. 26, with Alexander Bublik 90 points ahead and Alexander Blockx 46 behind. The win over Auger-Aliassime takes him to the last 16, where the next round is worth 1,880 points in the live rankings. Winning the title would take him to 2,290, a jump that would put him firmly back in the upper part of the table.

Not by chance, over the next six weeks Khachanov has only 135 points to defend, little compared with many rivals. Every round won in Beijing is therefore clean profit. With a US Open semifinal behind him and the confidence such a win brings, the Russian now has the chance to turn a good summer into a leading autumn.

Beijing's draw has not been all surprises, though. Novak Djokovic opened by beating Nuno Borges 6-3 7-6(2): it is his return to the China Open after eleven years and his first win since Wimbledon, after the first-round exit at the US Open against Mariano Navone. The Serb has never lost in Beijing, and with this win his record at the event stands at 30 wins and no defeats.

Djokovic is now No. 10 in the ATP rankings with 3,025 points, 170 behind Arthur Fils and 55 ahead of Alex De Minaur. His next opponent will be China's Bu Yunchaokete, who came through a long match against Juan Manuel Cerundolo: 6-2 5-7 6-4 over 30 games, the longest match of the tournament so far. The home crowd will have plenty to enjoy.

Jan-Lennard Struff, who beat Thiago Agustin Tirante 6-1 6-4, and Arthur Gea, who got past China's Zhizhen Zhang 6-4 6-3, also advanced. It is a special moment for Gea: the Frenchman is No. 54 with 963 points, has climbed 28 places since August 3 and won the title in Los Cabos, beating Denis Shapovalov 6-3 6-4 in the final.

The 2026 edition began on September 28 and has one striking feature: the defending champion is missing. Jannik Sinner won in 2025, beating Learner Tien 6-2 6-2 in the final, after his 2023 win over Medvedev 7-6(2) 7-6(2). In between came Alcaraz's triumph in 2024, 6-7(6) 6-4 7-6(3) against Sinner himself.

That changes the tournament's ranking picture and the weight of the points. In 2025 Sinner collected 500 points for the title, Tien 300 for the final, De Minaur and Medvedev 180 each for the semifinals, while Zverev, Fabian Marozsan, Jakub Mensik and Lorenzo Musetti took 90 each for the quarterfinals. With the draw losing its heaviest names, the field opens up for many.

The picture on the site after the round shows ten players left in the draw from eight nations, with China the best represented: two players, one still in the running, Bu Yunchaokete. Five matches have been played so far, one tiebreak and just one deciding set, no retirements. An orderly start, with a single truly heavy verdict.

Khachanov's road now runs through the last 16, where he will try to confirm his form against an opponent coming out of the other matches of the round. The Russian has shown in recent weeks that he can win the matches that matter, and in Beijing he has a rare chance to exploit a draw without the defending champion. With Djokovic still in the field, though, every obstacle stays high.