The 2023 Kinoshita Group Japan Open will take place from October 16-22 at the Ariake Tennis Forest Park in Tokyo. Here is our preview of the ATP 500 tournament, which will feature Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe, Alexander Zverev, Casper Ruud, and Ben Shelton.

The Japan Open is the longest-running ATP Tour-level tournament in Asia, having held its inaugural edition in 1972. This year, World No. 8 Fritz will return to the courts at the Ariake Colosseum in a bid to defend his title from last year, when he defeated his compatriot Tiafoe in the final.

The American will face a tough challenge in the opening round of the 2023 tournament, as he is set to take on World No. 16 Cameron Norrie. However, the Brit has had a difficult time on the circuit lately, suffering a lot of early exits including first-round defeats at the recent China Open and Shanghai Masters.

If Fritz makes it past Norrie, he will face either Shintaro Mochizuki or Tomas Martin Etcheverry in the second round. Meanwhile, his projected opponent for the quarter-finals is Zhuhai Championships victor Karen Khachanov.

Along with Fritz, World No. 9 Ruud and No. 10 Zverev will be present here, with all three still in the running for the last few spots at the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin. In order to get there, they will need to build up sufficient points in Tokyo. Ruud will face Japanese player Yosuke Watanuki in the opening round, after which he could face Yoshihito Nishioka, whom he defeated in Shanghai this week.

Moreover, there is the potential for a highly-anticipated clash between Zverev and rising talent Shelton in the second round if the German player gets past Jordan Thompson and the American defeats his qualifier opponent in the first round.

Last year's runner-up Tiafoe will also be returning this year and will begin his campaign against Aslan Karatsev, while promising talent Zhizhen Zhang will face Hubert Hurkacz for the second time in a week. The Polish player emerged victorious from their incredibly tight three-set battle at the Shanghai Masters.

Furthermore, if World No. 11 Alex de Minaur makes it past his opening match, he will face the winner of the clash between two Argentinian players - Francisco Cerundolo and Diego Schwartzman.

Meanwhile, Felix Auger-Aliassime is set to kick off his run against Aleksandar Vukic as he aims to get back to form before the end of what has been a difficult season. If the Canadian makes it to the quarter-final, he is likely to face Ruud.