The 21st season of the Mei Deng Jue begins, with a dark horse emerging among Tokyo's top four; Leyba suffers another loss to a shorter opponent, advancing in doubles from round two to one.

Three minutes daily to catch up on tennis worldwide. Hello tennis fans, today is Monday, September 29, 2025. Welcome to the midday news report brought to you by "Tennis Home."

Last night Beijing time, the ATP 500 China Open finished its fourth day of matches. In singles: In the final second-round match, second seed and German star Zverev battled through three sets to defeat Frenchman Moutet 7-5, 3-6, 6-3, reaching the quarterfinals for the fifth time at this event.

In the quarterfinals, he will face his longtime rival, Russian Medvedev, who beat Spain’s Fucsovics 6-3, 6-3. Medvedev and Zverev have met 20 times before, with the Russian leading 13-7 and currently holding a four-match winning streak. This will be their 21st encounter. Do you think Zverev can turn the tide?

Other matches: American rising star Learner-Quan defeated Italy’s Cobolli 6-3, 6-2; Italian veteran Musetti, amid controversy involving insults to Chinese players, eliminated Frenchman Mannarino with two 6-3 sets.

In doubles: In a quarterfinal match, the wildcard Chinese-British pair Bu Yunchao/Norrie lost 3-6, 4-6 to third seeds Haileiwala/Patten, missing out on the semifinals. With this result, no Chinese male players remain in either singles or doubles.

Turning our attention to Japan: Last night Beijing time, the ATP 500 Tokyo event completed its singles quarterfinals, producing all semifinalists. Top seed and Spanish star Alcaraz performed steadily, defeating American Brandon Nakashima 6-2, 6-4, marking his ninth consecutive tournament reaching at least the semifinals. He will face fourth seed and Norway’s top player Ruud, who beat Australian qualifier Vukic 6-3, 6-2.

American Brooksby showed his dark horse spirit again by ousting third seed and Denmark’s top player Rune 6-3, 6-3, preventing a top-four seed semifinal clash. In the semifinals, he will meet second seed Fritz in an all-American derby. Fritz defeated fellow American Korda 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-3, and with this win, has climbed back to fourth in the live world rankings.

Now let's focus on the women's court. Last night Beijing time, the WTA 1000 China Open completed its fifth day of competition. In a third-round women's singles match, Chinese veteran Zhang Shuai squandered a 5-3 and 5-4 (30-0) lead in the first set, losing it 6-7(11). In the second set, seemingly drained, Zhang was blanked 0-6 and lost the match 0-2 to American star Anisimova, missing out on the round of 16.

Eighth seed, Kazakh player Rybakina also failed to advance, losing to 165cm tall German Lis 6-3, 1-6, 6-4. Despite standing 184cm tall, Rybakina holds no advantage over shorter opponents, and when her serve falters, defeat is possible.

Meanwhile, players like Muchova, Barty, Buzkova, Bencic, Keys, and Gauff all secured victories to reach the round of 16. Notably, defending champion Gauff achieved her 150th WTA hardcourt win, becoming the youngest player since Denmark’s Wozniacki in 2011 to reach this milestone.

In women's doubles: In the first round, Chinese duo Xu Yifan/Yang Zhaoxuan secured a 6-4, 7-6(3) victory over Kruger/Pegula, marking a strong start; wildcard Chinese pair Shao Yushan/Zhang Ruiyan fell 3-6, 1-6 to sixth seeds Muhammad/Shaw, missing advancement.

Finally, a guess and recognition challenge. The image below shows a player crouching in tears after winning a match. Without hints, can you identify who he is?

In the previous challenge, some fans gave the correct answer. Indeed, the person in the picture is Safin, known as the "Russian Tsar."

(Source: Tennis Home Author: Independent Thinker)