Day 4 Review: Top seed tumbles, as a blockbuster awaits

One opportunity is all it takes. Alina Charaeva made hers count.

Elena Rybakina’s first match as the world’s No. 1 player ended in stunning fashion Saturday, as the No. 118-ranked Charaeva rallied for a 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 upset on the Diamond Court. 

Charaeva, a qualifier representing Armenia, fell to her knees after the final point. 

“I don’t have words to say,” Charaeva said in the on-court interview afterward. “I’m out of words. Thank you guys for your support.

“I wanted to believe. I worked so hard.”

This was Rybakina’s first match since Sept. 12, when she beat Aryna Sabalenka in the U.S. Open final to take over the world’s No. 1 ranking. With the win, Charaeva became just the second player to beat a World No. 1 in their their maiden match as No. 1. The last player to do so was Kristina Mladenovic over No. 1 Naomi Osaka at 2019 Dubai. 

Charaeva had never played an opponent ranked No. 1 in the world, let alone a player ranked inside the top-30 before her victory tonight. The highest ranked opponent she’s ever faced was No. 31 Wang Xinyu. 

After gaining momentum and stealing the second set, Charaeva used everything in her bag to clinch the upset. 

The most pivotal point of the game was in Game 5. After going up 15-0, Rybakina powered her forehand shots out bounce three consecutive time letting Charaeva steel the game. 

Charaeva will play Sonay Kartal in the third round on Monday. 

The top-ranked men's seed enjoyed a much easier night on Diamond Court. World No. 2 Alexander Zverev defeated an injured Shang Jungcheng 6-0, 6-3 to advance to the ATP 500 quarterfinals. Zverev's win sets up a mouth-watering showdown against six-time champion Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals. The Serb has returned to the China Open for the first time in 11 years and has maintained his perfect 31-0 record at the tournament. The match will take the primetime spot at 7:00pm on Diamond Court on Sunday night. 

But not every men's seed moved through safely on Day 5. While No. 3 seed Daniil Medvedev tallied his sixth consecutive victory by defeating Jan-Lennard Struff, No. 8 seed Jakub Mensik fell in straight sets to Francisco Cerundolo. The Argentine once again had all the answers against Mensik, winning 6-3, 6-3 in 1 hour, 17 minutes on Moon Court to improve to 3-0 all-time against the Czech.

In addition to thoroughly stifling Mensik’s serve game, Cerundolo dominated the match on the margins. The Argentine had three break points won to the Czech’s zero, playing a more mistake-free game amidst the windy, chilly conditions. 

The 28-year-old Cerundolo had previously defeated Mensik in the first round of the 2024 China Open, 7-6 (4), 6-1, and in the quarterfinal of the ATP Masters 1000 Madrid, 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-2. Cerundolo will face Medvedev in the quarterfinals.

In other results, China established star and its rising star both secured their spots in the third round. Zheng Qinwen advanced after battling back to force a third set before Anna Kalinskaya retired down 0-3 due to illness. That gave Zheng a 6-7(4), 6-4, 3-0 (ret.) victory. She will face 18th seed Marie Bouzkova for a spot in the Round of 16.

As Zheng held Diamond Court's rapt attention, 16-year-old Sun Xinran ousted 27th seed Cristina Bucsa 6-4, 7-5. The win earns the reigning US Open junior champion a showdown with another former teen phenom, 2023 China Open champion Coco Gauff. The American needed three sets to get past Colombia's Camila Osorio in her opener. 

Other winners in the women’s draw include 2023 champion Iga Swiatek, Elina Svitolina, Belinda Bencic, Iva Jovic, and Jelena Ostapenko. 

With Day 4 in the books, the men’s quarterfinals are now set: 

[1] Alexander Zverev vs. [6] Novak Djokovic

[3] Daniil Medvedev vs. Francisco Cerundolo

[5] Alex de Minaur vs. Andrey Rublev

Hubert Hurkacz vs. Karen Khachanov

By Courtney Nguyen, Pranav Sriraman, and Dominic Achille