Neither Novak Djokovic nor Andy Murray have played a competitive match since the final of the 2012 US Open from Flushing Meadows, New York. Both players however will be in action this upcoming week. Murray is the top seed at ATP Tokyo 2012 (Japan Open Tennis Championships) while Djokovic is the top seed at ATP Beijing 2012 (China Open), tournaments that are each a part of the 500 series on the ATP Tour.
In Tokyo, Murray will have to face a tough opponent in the first round. He's drawn France's Gael Monfils, a former top ten player whose ranking is currently low mainly due to missed time on tour. Other key players in the Tokyo draw include Tomas Berdych, Janko Tipsarevic, Milos Raonic, and Kei Nishikori. Juan Monaco is also in the draw immediately on the heels of a title in Kuala Lumpur.
Murray, the reigning US Open champion, is considered the favorite to win the title in Tokyo (Stan James 6/5) but the World No. 3 has acknowledged that he has a challenging opponent in his opening match:
“I’ve got a tough first match against Monfils," said Murray (quoted in an ATPWorldTour.com article). "I’ve lost to him a couple times and he’s a great athlete, so that’s going to be a tough match to start.”
Murray also indicated that he is well rested and he hinted that the ATP World Tour Finals are in the back of his mind:
“I’ll try and win as many matches as I can to finish the year. I would also like to play well in the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London. I didn’t have the chance to do that last year and that was a very disappointing way for me to finish the year."
In Beijing, Djokovic will open his tournament against Michael Berrer of Germany, a 32 year old player currently ranked 123rd in the world. Seeded players in Beijing besides Djokovic include David Ferrer, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Marin Cilic, Richard Gasquet, Alexandr Dolgopolov, Tommy Haas, and Fernando Verdasco. Gasquet enters Beijing following a title in ATP Bangkok, where he defeated Gilles Simon in Sunday's final.
Djokovic, the reigning Australian Open champion and a player who wants to reclaim the World No. 1 ranking from Roger Federer, is a big favorite to win the China Open (8/15 Stan James). The draw ahead of the current World No. 2 looks much less competitive than the Tokyo draw despite the fact that the China Open offers about $2.2 million in prize money while ATP Tokyo offers just under $1.3 million.
Djokovic did not finish the 2011 season strong, a circumstance that creates a lot of potential for growth now that the end of 2012 is approaching. Additionally, Federer is idle this week ahead of the Shanghai Masters and that means he cannot gain any ranking points himself. A title in Beijing for Djokovic would give the Serb 500 ranking points and that would take a big chunk out of Federer's current lead.
The finals for both Tokyo and Beijing will take place next Sunday, October 7th. If you went by seeds Murray would face Berdych in Tokyo with Nishikori, Raonic, and Tipsarevic potential spoilers. If the seeds held up in Beijing, fans would be watching Djokovic face Ferrer in what would be a battle of two top five players.