Kartal defeats Wang as Zverev eases past Shang to set up Djokovic tie
On 3 October 2026 at the China Open in Beijing, Great Britain's Sonay Kartal defeated Wang Xinyu 6-3 6-2 as she continued her return to the WTA Tour, while men's top seed Alexander Zverev beat Juncheng Shang 6-0 6-3 to set up a quarter-final with Novak Djokovic.
Kartal, 24, was playing only her second tour match after six months out with a back injury and had earlier returned to competition last month at the Billie Jean Cup. She had previously made the quarter-finals in Beijing in 2025 but had dropped to 129 in the world after missing the majority of this season, including the last three Grand Slam tournaments, and had retired injured from a last-16 match against Elena Rybakina at Indian Wells in March.
Against Wang, Kartal produced 12 winners and made just 11 unforced errors to her opponent's 24, converting five of 14 break points as she closed out a 6-3 6-2 victory. In her on-court interview she said, "I am super happy to play here and I think that shows in my tennis," and added, "I've had a long time out but I am happy to make a return to this event - I am looking to equal or hopefully do better this year."
Alina Charaeva, ranked world number 118, recovered from a set down to beat newly crowned world number one Elena Rybakina 3-6 6-4 6-3; Charaeva had never before faced a top 20 player on the WTA Tour. Kartal had been preparing for the possibility of meeting US Open champion Rybakina before that upset altered the draw.
British teammate Harriet Dart pushed American 10th seed Iva Jovic but lost 6-2 3-6 3-6, the 30-year-old British qualifier breaking serve three times in the opening set before the rising 18-year-old recovered to win in three sets.
Zverev, 29, has won his first two Grand Slam titles this season—the French Open and the US Open—and maintained his form with a 6-0 6-3 victory over Shang to reach the quarter-finals and earn a meeting with Novak Djokovic on Sunday. Djokovic, 39, has won the China Open six times and has never lost a match in Beijing, and Zverev knows he will rise to number one in the world for the first time should he win the China Open and the Shanghai Masters, which starts on Wednesday (7 October).
Jannik Sinner announced his decision to withdraw from the Shanghai Masters as he recovers from a knee injury and has not played since beating Zverev in the Wimbledon final in July; Sinner took the number one spot in April from Spain's Carlos Alcaraz. Alcaraz, who returned from four months out with a wrist injury at the US Open in September, reached the quarter-finals of the Japan Open in Tokyo on Saturday after saving four set points in the opener to beat Matteo Arnaldi 7-6 (8-6) 6-1 and will next play Denis Shapovalov, who defeated Alejandro Tabilo 7-5 3-6 6-4.
Kartal's next opponent is confirmed as world number 118 Alina Charaeva in the last 32, while Zverev's quarter-final against Novak Djokovic arrives ahead of the Shanghai Masters starting on Wednesday (7 October), with Zverev able to claim the world number one ranking if he wins both events.