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Alexander Zverev, other top seeds perform early at 2017 China Open

By Harry Floyd

BEIJING, CHINA - OCTOBER 03: Alexander Zverev of Germany returns a shot against Kyle Edmund of Great Britain during the Men's singles first round on day four of 2017 China Open at the China National Tennis Centre on October 3, 2017 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Lintao Zhang/Getty Images)
BEIJING, CHINA - OCTOBER 03: Alexander Zverev of Germany returns a shot against Kyle Edmund of Great Britain during the Men's singles first round on day four of 2017 China Open at the China National Tennis Centre on October 3, 2017 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Lintao Zhang/Getty Images) /
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Alexander Zverev is one of the young rising stars on the ATP World Tour. He and several other top seeds win their openers at the China Open.

Alexander Zverev holds off British No. 2 Kyle Edmund at the China Open.

The young German tennis star wins his opener over Edmund in straight sets. He takes the match 6-3, 7-6 (3). Up next for Zverev is Italian Fabio Fognini.

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This week, Zverev is the second seed in Beijing. The top seed, Rafael Nadal, also saw a win in his opener over Lucas Pouille. Nadal wins a challenging three-set match over the French tennis player.

Alexander Zverev has a 48-16 singles match record on the year to go along with 5 ATP titles.

Bulgarian tennis star Grigor Dimitrov is the third seed this week at the China Open. He also sees a win in his opening round match in Beijing. Top seeded American tennis player John Isner is the No. 6 this week. He advances through to the next round.

This year, the China Open is missing six-time champion Novak Djokovic. That leaves plenty of room for Nadal, Zverev, or a more unexpected champion to emerge. Nadal is the 2005 winner of the tournament. With the majority of the top seeds through to the second round, the tournament is shaping up for a thrilling showdown.

Next: Top 10 Men's Singles Players in Open Era

The biggest surprise of the early round matches is Jack Sock dropping his match to Andrey Rublev. While Sock started the 2017 ATP World Tour in fantastic form, his play has slowed as of late. He is the current world No. 21 in men’s singles tennis.

Also winning their openers were both Nick Kyrgios and Tomas Berdych. Kyrgios, who is often hit or miss, reached the finals this year in Cincinnati before exiting the US Open in the first round. The 22-year-old Australian is the current world No. 19 on the ATP World Tour. He could use a strong finish to the year. Stay tuned to see how Alexander Zverev, Rafael Nadal, and others fare throughout the rest of the 2017 China Open.

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