The 2025 China Open men's singles main draw began on Thursday, with top seed Jannik Sinner cruising past former US Open champion Marin Cilic 6-2, 6-2 to reach the round of 16.

Jannik Sinner hits a return during the men's singles first round match between Jannik Sinner of Italy and Marin Cilic of Croatia at 2025 China Open tennis tournament in Beijing, China, Sept. 25, 2025. (Xinhua/Hu Jingwen)

Sinner took control early, breaking twice in the first set with sharp returns and dominant baseline play. In the second set, he surged into a 5-1 lead and closed out the match without difficulty.

"I mean, it's always difficult. His peak is very, very high. I practiced with him in New York, so it was quite recent. Big respect to him," said Sinner. "I managed to break him quite early, which gave me the confidence to continue. Obviously very, very happy."

"It's very nice to come here [to Beijing]. Since day one, when you practice, a lot of people watch the practice. You feel the passion people here have. I'm very happy to bring my energy to them," he added.

Earlier on Thursday, China's Zhang Zhizhen fell 2-0 to France's Terence Atmane in the first round. His compatriot Bu Yunchaokete teamed up with Great Britain's Cameron Norrie to advance to the second round of the men's doubles draw.

On the women's side, aside from Wang Yafan's late withdrawal due to injury, all five Chinese wildcards took to the court. Home favorites shone as Zhu Lin, Yuan Yue and Wang Xiyu all notched opening-round wins to delight the home crowd.

Wang Xiyu defeated compatriot Guo Hanyu in straight sets, while Zhu Lin eased past Japan's Moyuka Uchijima 2-0 for her first China Open main-draw victory in 11 years. Yuan Yue battled past Yulia Putintseva to set up a clash with top seed Iga Swiatek in the next round. Wei Sijia bowed out in the first round.

"I didn't play last year's China season because of injury. I'm really happy that I was able to play this year, especially in Beijing. It's a special tournament for me," said Zhu. "Especially against Moyuka, we practice in the same club. We know each other so well. We basically practiced every day in Guangzhou."

"We had a lot of rallies. I had to really focus on my service game and focus on the decisions on every point. I'm really happy with the result," she added.

With Zheng Qinwen and Wang Xinyu both receiving first-round byes, six Chinese women have advanced to the second round.

On Friday, Zhang Shuai will face Wang Xinyu in an all-Chinese clash, while Bu Yunchaokete and Shang Juncheng will begin their men's singles campaigns.