Three-time defending champion Novak Djokovic once again headlines the China Open. The Serb has used the tournament in Beijing to kickoff his Asian hard court swing which starts off after the US Open. Djokovic has won the title the last three years and is a five-time champion. The China Open coincides with the Japan Open so top players are forced to choose which ATP 500 event they go to.
Other major headliners
2013 runner-up Rafael Nadal is also one of the players who will be headlining the field. The world number eight was knocked out in the quarterfinals last year by Martin Klizan despite winning the first set. Nadal was dealing with appendicitis at the time of this match. He was also the 2005 champion of the China Open, knocking off Guillermo Coria for the title.
Tomas Berdych and David Ferrer are the final two major headliners of the China Open. Berdych was the last man not named Djokovic to win the title in 2011, defeating Marin Cilic in three sets. Ferrer was the 2010 runner-up, losing to Djokovic in straight sets. Ferrer will kickoff his Asian swing in Kuala Lumpur, an ATP 250 event held the week before.
The other top players
Canadian Milos Raonic will be making an appearance in the Chinese capital after playing at the Japan Open last year. He was runner-up to Kei Nishikori in Tokyo, losing in three extremely tight sets. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga returns to the China Open after a two-year hiatus. The Frenchman was the 2012 runner-up to Djokovic and was the top seed in 2011 but lost in the semifinal to eventual champion Tomas Berdych.
The last player to announce themselves into the China Open so far is young gun Dominic Thiem. The Austrian is enjoying a stellar year with three titles this year in Nice, Umag, and Gstaad. He also made his first career Masters quarterfinal in Miami and was a set away from his first Masters semifinal before falling to Andy Murray.