Preview of Day 6: Alcaraz gears up for youthful clash, Sabalenka faces Kenin

The 2023 China Open will feature several intense matches on Sunday, Chinese National Day.

In the men’s singles, the young Big Three of Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner and Holger Rune will compete for a spot in the quarterfinals respectively. 

Top seed Carlos Alcaraz will face Italian rising star and one-handed backhand player, Lorenzo Musetti, in the third match of the day session. Both players are representatives of the new generation's brilliant playing style and are bound to deliver a top-class tennis feast for the fans.

No.3 seed Holger Rune will take on former world No.3 Grigor Dimitrov in the first match of the night session. The other two men's singles matches will be held on the Lotus Court. No.7 seed and three-time Grand Slam finalist, Casper Ruud, will compete against this year’s French Open quarterfinalist, Argentine Tomas Martin Etcheverry. Following that, No.6 seed Jannik Sinner will take the stage against Japanese Yoshihito Nishioka.

As to the women’s singles, newly crowned world No.1 Aryna Sabalenka will face off against former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin. This would be Sabalenka’s first match after claiming world No.1. Meanwhile, Kenin has been steadily recovering from injury this season, showing rapid improvement.

Will she pose a threat to Sabalenka? How will Sabalenka perform as the world No.1? It’s an exciting matchup worth attention. This match will take place on the Diamond Court in the second session.

Wang Xiyu, who just won her first WTA Singles title in Guangzhou, will take the stage as the closing match at the Diamond Court, facing off against two-time Wimbledon champion and No.12 seed Petra Kvitova.

Can Wang capitalize on home advantage and pull off an upset? Another Chinese wildcard participant, Tian Fangran, will also make an appearance, competing against Czech Linda Noskova in a youthful clash.

In addition, three other Grand Slam champions will grace the women’s singles court, including this year’s Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova, 2021 French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova and 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko.

Each match on Sunday promises excitement. Are you ready to celebrate National Day at the National Tennis Center?