2013 China Open draw was made on Saturday. The event begins on Monday, September 30, and features six players from the ATP’s top 10. Three-time champion Novak Djokovic is seeded no.1.
In 2012 Beijing final, Nole defeated Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (7-6, 6-2).
The 26-year-old Belgrade native will open his title defence at the ATP World Tour 500 event against world no.46, Czech Lukas Rosol, on Tuesday about 15.00 local time (09.00 CET).
Novak’s possible rivals in the later stages of the tournament are:
Second round: Fernando Verdasco (ESP)
Quarter-finals: Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI, 6), Mikhail Youzhny (RUS)
Semi-finals: David Ferrer (ESP, 3), Richard Gasquet (FRA, 5)
Spaniard Rafael Nadal is no.2 seed, and Nole can’t meet him before the finals. Tomas Berdych (CZE, 4) and Tommy Haas (GER, 7) are also in the bottom half of the draw.
Novak will start his 101st week at No.1 in the ATP Rankings on Monday.
He is the ninth player in ATP World Tour history to reach the milestone, joining Andre Agassi (101 weeks), Rafael Nadal (102), Bjorn Borg (109), John McEnroe (170), Jimmy Connors (268), Ivan Lendl (270), Pete Sampras (286) and record holder Roger Federer (302).
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