Zverev advances to the last 16 in Beijing

Alexander Zverev made a winning start to his China Open campaign, defeating Cameron Norrie 7-6(1), 6-4 to reach the last 16 in Beijing.

The German, seeded first at the ATP 500 event, faced a difficult opening set against the British left-hander. Norrie created a set point, but Zverev held his nerve and dominated the subsequent tie-break, winning it 7-1.

The second set remained closely contested, with neither player able to break early on. Zverev eventually found the decisive breakthrough at 5-4 before serving out the match.

Zverev finished with 15 aces and won 77% of points behind his first serve. He also saved all three break points he faced during the match.

The victory extends Zverev's winning run to nine matches following his US Open triumph, his Davis Cup victory with Germany and his success with Team Europe at the Laver Cup. He will face either Juncheng Shang or Sebastian Baez in the next round.