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ATP Brief: October 1, 2026

Nishikori Bows Out in Tokyo as Tien's Beijing Return Ends Early

Kei Nishikori's remarkable career came to an end Thursday in the place where his rise helped transform Japanese tennis.

The 36-year-old played his final professional match at the Japan Open, falling 6-4, 6-4 to Frances Tiafoe before an appreciative crowd at Ariake Coliseum. Nishikori, who won the Tokyo title in 2012 and 2014, was honored afterward with a video tribute featuring messages from Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, Andy Murray and other players from across his generation.

Nishikori retires with 12 ATP singles titles and a career-high ranking of World No. 4. His defining Grand Slam run came at the 2014 US Open, where he defeated Djokovic in the semifinals to become the first Asian man to reach a major singles final before losing to Marin Cilic. Injuries increasingly interrupted the latter stages of his career, but his success established him as one of the most important players in the history of Japanese and Asian men's tennis.

In Beijing, Learner Tien's return to the site of one of his biggest breakthroughs ended much earlier than it did a year ago. Hubert Hurkacz rallied to defeat the 20-year-old American 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 in the opening round of the China Open.

Tien reached the Beijing final as a teenager in 2025, beating Francisco Cerundolo and Flavio Cobolli before advancing past Lorenzo Musetti and Daniil Medvedev, then falling to Jannik Sinner in the championship match. This time, Hurkacz erased a one-set deficit behind 12 aces and strong first-serve numbers to send Tien out in Round 1.

Alexander Zverev avoided a similar fate. The US Open champion opened his Beijing campaign with a 7-6(1), 6-4 victory over Cameron Norrie, collecting his ATP-leading 28th hard-court victory of the season. Zverev will next face China's Juncheng Shang, who rallied past Sebastian Baez in three sets.

The opening round produced several other notable results across Asia. Roman Safiullin knocked out Beijing's fourth seed Flavio Cobolli 6-3, 6-2, while Andrey Rublev survived Tallon Griekspoor in a third-set tiebreak.

Tokyo was even rougher on the seeds. Jaume Munar eliminated Taylor Fritz 6-7(7), 6-4, 6-3; Ugo Humbert defeated Brandon Nakashima 6-3, 6-2; and Luciano Darderi knocked out Casper Ruud 7-6(3), 6-3. Top seed Carlos Alcaraz survived a more difficult opener against Alex Michelsen, recovering after dropping the second set to win 7-6(1), 4-6, 6-1.

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Showing 1-21 of 63 storiesPage 1 of 3
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