Home favourite Zhang falls in China Open first round

China's Zhang Zhizhen lost 6-4, 6-2 to France's Terence Atmane in the China Open men's singles first round on the Lotus Court on Thursday.

Zhang Zhizhen competes during the men's singles first round match between Zhang Zhizhen of China and Terence Atmane of France at 2025 China Open tennis tournament in Beijing, China, Sept. 25, 2025. (Photo by Ma Zihan/Xinhua)

The opening set went on serve for the first nine games before world No. 68 Atmane broke in the 10th with a forehand winner. In the second set, the Frenchman capitalized on Zhang's double fault to break in the fourth game, added another break in the eighth, and closed out the match in 71 minutes.

Atmane will next take on the winner between top seed Jannik Sinner of Italy and Croatia's Marin Cilic, the former US Open champion.

Wildcard entrant Zhang, 28, has a career-high ranking of No. 31 and is regarded as China's most successful male tennis player. However, injuries have hampered his progress this year, keeping him sidelined since the Indian Wells Masters in March and dropping his world ranking to 370.

The Shanghai native made his return at last week's Hangzhou Open, where he defeated compatriot Bu Yunchaokete in the first round before falling to Dalibor Svrcina of the Czech Republic.