Karen Khachanov overcame Yoshihito Nishioka 7-6 (7-2) 6-1 in 1 hour and 43 minutes in the final of the Huafa Properties Zhuhai Championships to claim his fifth tour title and his first since Paris Bercy 2018. 

Khachanov earned an early break in the fifth game of the opening set to take a 3-2 lead. Nishioka broke back in the eighth game to draw level to 4-4. Khachanov was just two points from losing the first set when he was serving at 4-5 15-30. 

Nishioka earned an early mini-break to take a 2-1 lead, but Khachanov reeled off consecutive points to close out the first set 7-2, when Nishioka hit a backhand long. 

Khachanov won the final five games with two breaks of serve to close out the win after 1 hour and 44 minutes with a forehand winner up the line. 

Khachanov joked with Nishioka during the award ceremony. 

“I did not know that you had a birthday tomorrow, otherwise maybe I would have played different. When I play against you, I have to run a lot. Left, right, left, right, like table tennis”, said Khachanov.

Khachanov was playing in his second tour-level match since his Roland Garros quarter final last May when he suffered from a stress fracture in his back. 

Khachanov, who lost in the first round at the US Open on his return last August, dropped just one set en route to the title. The Russian player moves up to number 14 in the ATP Live Ranking. Khachanov improves to 4-1 in his head-to-head series against Nishioka. 

Alexander Zverev came back from a set and a break down to beat Roman Safiulin 6-7 (2-7) 7-6 (7-5) 6-2 at the Chengdu Open claiming the 21^st title of his career. 

Zverev has moved to seventh seventh in the ATP Race to Turin boosting his chances of qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals. 

Safiulin  saved three break points in the 10^th game of the first set, which went on serve en route to the tie-break. Safiulin earned three mini-breaks to win the tie-break 7-3. 

Safiulin earned an early break in the second game to take a 2-0 lead. Zverev broke straight back and forced the second set  to a second tie-break. Zverev went up a mini-break three times, but Safiulin pulled back on serve each time. Zverev was two points from defeat at 5-5 in the tie-break of the second set but he won the final two points to win the second set. 

Zverev earned the decisive break in the fourth game to open up a 3-1 lead and closed out the win on his first match point. 

Zverev won his second title of the season after his triumph in home city Hamburg last July. “He is playing the best tennis of his life for sure. The way he was winning this week. I think he beat a lot of great players quite easily, so I think that he was playing well. Obviously, I am happy to be able to come back and to win this title”, said Zverev. 

Daria Kasatkina came back from one set down to beat Marta Kostyuk 3-6 6-4 6-3 in 2 hours and 24 minutes reaching the second round at the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo. 

Katatkina is playing her first tournament since the US Open, where she lost to Aryna Sabalenka in the fourth round. 

Kasatkina set up a second round match against Greek qualifier Despina Papamichail, who beat Japanese lucky loser Sakura Hosogi 7-6 (7-3) 7-5 in 2 hours and 19 minutes. 

Kostyuk dropped just eight points on serve and broke serve in the fourth game to close out the first set 6-3. The second set featured nine service breaks in ten games. Kostyuk went up a break three times, but Kasatkina pulled back on serve each time. Kasatkina broke in the eighth and tenth games to seal the second set 6-4. 

Kostyuk went up a break twice in the third set, but she was broken back both times. Kasatkina drew level to 3-3, as Kostyuk made a overhead error, and won the final four games to seal the third set 6-4. 

Anastasya Pavlyuchenkova cruised past Donna Vekic 6-1 6-1 in just 74 minutes. Nineteen-year-old Linda Noskova saved one set point to beat Japanese lucky loser Himeno Sakatsume 6-2 7-5 setting up a second round against Anastasya Pavlyuchenkova. 

Ekaterina Aleksandrova came back from one set down to beat Anna Kalinskaya 6-7 (7-9) 6-1 7-5 in 2 hours and 21 minutes setting up a second round against Liudmila Samsonova.