Davidovich awaits an opponent in the round of 16 in Beijing

The man from Malaga Alexander Davidovich Fokina He ended the participation of Chinese Zhou Yi in the China Open by defeating one of the two local representatives in the ATP 500 tournament in Beijing after 1 hour and 10 minutes 6-2 and 6-2 in the first round.

For Zhou, 18 years old and world number 905, the first game of his debut on the capital’s center court was a dream presentation, with a varied repertoire that ended with a layup for 40-0 that electrified the public. local

But Davidovich Fokina, 25 in the ATP rankings, finished courtesy of two aces in the second game and a break in the third to make it clear to Diamond Arena fans that he did not come to China to make things easy for local tennis. player.

The Spaniard won the first set more because of the errors and inexperience of Zhou, who was eager to impress his audience, than because of his many successes.

The second set started with a break of serve after a 40-0 deficit was overturned by Davidovich Fokina who also got a standing ovation from the locals in a game with multiple advantages for both players.

Despite the result being the same as the first, this second set lasted more than twice as long due to the momentum of the Chinese tennis player, who despite everything was unable to withstand the Spaniard’s hard hitting.

Young Zhou, who entered the tournament with one of three invitations from the organization, has yet to face the native of Malaga, and his biggest success on the circuit was the quarterfinals of the ATP 250 tournament in Zhuhai held last week in the southern China. .

The Spanish tennis player will be his opponent in the next round the winner of the match between the German Alexander Zverev (n.10) and the Argentine Diego Schwartzman (n.133).