Preview China Open Semifinals: Jannik Sinner faces familiar foe; Medvedev out for revenge on ‘giant killer’ Tien

This Monday, the four players who advanced to the semifinals of the ATP 500 China Open were defined—with Jannik Sinner's triumph over Fábián Marozsán as the day's main event. The Italian secured a showdown against Alex de Miñaur in the semifinals—who advanced after Jakub Mensik retired after barely five games.

Meanwhile, in the bottom half of the draw, Learner Tien once again showed why he is the 'giant killer,' achieving his 5th victory over a Top-10 player this season by eliminating the Italian Lorenzo Musetti. The American will face Daniil Medvedev, who once again defeated his classic rival Alexander Zverev to reach the 60th semifinal of his career.

Learner Tien took advantage of another retirement in the tournament after Lorenzo Musetti decided to withdraw from the match while trailing 0-3 in the third set. The 19-year-old American had legitimately earned his lead, totaling 72% first serves in and winning 66% of those points—in addition to showing his effectiveness in crucial moments, saving 5/6 break points and converting 3/8 opportunities. The American claimed the victory 4-6, 6-3, 3-0, ret.

Tien became the third player with the most victories over Top-10 players in the 2025 season, only behind Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner. The 19-year-old lefty is in the semifinals of an ATP 500 for the first time and sits in the Top-40 of the live rankings—a climb of 13 positions from the last ATP ranking update.

He will face the formidable Daniil Medvedev—who comes from defeating Alexander Zverev in straight sets (6-3, 6-3). The Russian appears to have rediscovered his level in recent weeks and completely overpowered the German World No. 3, reaching the 60th ATP tournament semifinal of his career. The former World No. 1 has yet to drop a set in the tournament and has already defeated other heavy hitters like Cam Norrie and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. The Russian will look for his second final of the season and 40th of his career against Tien.

They currently have only one previous encounter, which was a victory for Tien—the 'giant killer'—who delivered one of the shocks of the Australian Open earlier this year by defeating Medvedev in the second round in a five-set battle (6-3, 7-6, 6-7, 1-6, 7-6). Since then, the American has been on the ascent on the Tour and has become a respected name among his rivals. Against Medvedev, he will seek to reach his first-ever ATP-level final.

It's no surprise to see Jannik Sinner in the semifinals of a tournament again. The top seed appears unfazed in the final part of the season and maintains a pace of play that has overwhelmed every opponent he has crossed paths with. The World No. 2 defeated a fighting Fábián Marozsán 6-1, 7-5, in a solid performance by the Hungarian, but one that was not enough to spring a surprise on the Italian.

Sinner now reaches 40 wins for the season and will seek his 7th final of the year—after winning titles at the Australian Open and Wimbledon this year and falling in six other finals—all against Carlos Alcaraz.

He will face one of the rivals he knows best: the Australian Alex de Miñaur, against whom he holds a perfect 10-0 head-to-head record, with their last meeting being in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open earlier this year. De Miñaur advanced after the retirement of Menšík in the quarterfinals—which marked his 45th win of the season. Now an established Top-10 player, the Australian will look to surprise Sinner.

The favoritism clearly lies with the Italian, who holds a dominant 22-1 set advantage over De Miñaur. Sinner maintains hope of reclaiming the World No. 1 spot in the final part of the year, for which winning the title in Beijing will be key—especially considering that Alcaraz is still in contention in Tokyo this same week (playing the final against Fritz)—and with only a couple of tournaments remaining before both players conclude the season.