Beijing, Sep 25 (NationPress) Italian Grand Slam champion Jannik Sinner kicked off his campaign to reclaim the China Open title with a convincing win over two-time finalist Marin Cilic, defeating him 6-2, 6-2 in the opening round. Meanwhile, China's Zhang Zhizhen faced a tough loss, going down 6-4, 6-2 against France's Terence Atmane on the Lotus Court on Thursday.

This marks Sinner's return to competition following his recent defeat in the US Open final against Spain's Carlos Alcaraz, a match that also resulted in him losing the No. 1 position in the ATP Rankings. The 24-year-old Italian, who claimed victory in his Beijing debut in 2023 and reached the finals last year, managed to save the only break point he encountered upon his return to the Chinese ATP 500 event, as per Infosys ATP Stats.

Sinner's goal is to stay competitive in his pursuit of the ATP Year-End No. 1 title presented by PIF, especially as he trails Alcaraz by 2,590 points in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, while the Spaniard competes in Tokyo.

Next, Sinner will face Terence Atmane for the second time in two months. The French qualifier previously defeated Zhang Zhizhen to secure his first tour-level victory since his surprising semi-final run in Cincinnati, where he faced Sinner in their first ATP head-to-head encounter.

The opening set remained on serve for the first nine games before world No. 68 Atmane broke in the 10th game with a forehand winner. In the second set, the Frenchman took advantage of Zhang's double fault to break in the fourth game, added another break in the eighth game, and finished the match in just 71 minutes.

Zhang, a wildcard entrant and 28 years old, holds a career-high ranking of No. 31 and is recognized as China's most successful male tennis player. However, injuries have hindered his progress this year, sidelining him since the Indian Wells Masters in March and dropping his world ranking to 370.

The Shanghai native returned to action at last week's Hangzhou Open, where he won against compatriot Bu Yunchaokete in the first round before being defeated by Dalibor Svrcina from the Czech Republic.

Earlier in the day, Alexandre Muller created an upset by defeating Karen Khachanov 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-4 for his first Top 10 victory on hard courts and third overall (3-9). He will face Fabian Marozsan next, who ousted Benjamin Bonzi 7-6(1), 6-3 on his debut in Beijing.

Alejandro Davidovich Fokina also advanced to the second round, achieving a decisive 6-1, 6-3 win over Camilo Ugo Carabelli. The Spaniard, who struck 21 winners, including six aces, will next meet either eighth seed Daniil Medvedev or Cameron Norrie in Beijing.