Hangzhou champion Alexander Bublik will come back immediately when he took the court in Beijing on Friday against Adrian Mannarino. Chengdu finalist, Lorenzo Musetti, faces the familiar enemy Giovanni Mpeshi Perricard.
Giovanni Mpeshi Pericard vs. (4) Lorenzo musetti
It is said that Mettshi Perricard is the last person to whom anyone who wants to face in the first round of a tournament, but in this case, he can be the opposite – Perricard Mettshi surely does not want any parts of Musetti. They clashed on three previous occasions and the Musetti prevailed each time, in a pair of equality break during the Stuttgart 2024 event and in four sets in Wimbledon (2024) and the US Open (2025).
Based on the current form, there are few reasons to think that the tide will turn on China Open on Friday. Musetti then reached the quarterfinals of Flushing Meadows and he has just left a finalist performance in Chengdu. Mpeshi Perricard has only 14-20 this year after falling to Alexander Shevchenko in the second round of Chengdu. The French classified 36th is still dangerous because of his service, but Musetti has managed it in the past and will probably do so again in the first round of Beijing.
Pick: Muses in 2
(Q) Adrian Mannarino against Alexander Bublis
Only Carlos Alcaraz won more titles than Bublik this season. The world No. 16 has raised four trophies out of three different areas, more recently triumphant this week in Hangzhou this week. Bublik was simply on fire dating from the French Open and its 31-17 record in 2025 did it in the end of the Nitto ATP final before the race.
The first for the 28-year-old Friday was a second meeting with Mannarino, who lost his only previous match 6-3, 6-4 at the 2020 Doha tournament. The 37-year-old Frenchman also plays well, arriving at 60th in the ranking with fourth round efforts at the Cincinnati Masters and the United States. Mannarino has earned his life by making the opponents fight, which Bublik was frequently done in the past. He is sure to say that Kazakh certainly does not do it for the moment.
Pick: Bublik in 2
