MOSCOW, September 26. /TASS/. Russia’s Karen Khachanov defeated Japanese opponent Yoshihito Nishioka in the final of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) tournament in Zhuhai, China.

The match ended 7-6 (7-2), 6-1 in favor of Khachanov, who was the number one seed at the tournament. Nishioka was seeded eighth. This is Khachanov’s first title at an ATP-sponsored event since 2018, when he won the Paris Masters.

Khachanov won his first singles matches since June at the tournament in Zhuhai. After losing to Serbia's Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals of the French Open on June 6, he withdrew from Wimbledon due to injury. The Russian returned to the court in August, playing two doubles matches at the ATP Masters tournament in Cincinnati (Ohio, USA). At his next tournament, the US Open, Khachanov was defeated in the first round.

Khachanov, 27, is 15th in the ATP rankings and has now won five tournaments on the ATP tour. Khachanov's best results at Grand Slam include reaching the semifinals of the Australian Open (2023) and the US Open (2022). In 2021, Khachanov won the silver medal at the Olympics in men’s singles, and as a member of the Russian team he won the Davis Cup.

Nishioka, 27, is ranked 46th in the world rankings. The Japanese player has two ATP titles. He has never gone past the fourth round of a Grand Slam tournament.

The tournament in Zhuhai is being played on hard courts as part of the ATP 250. Total prize money for the competition is more than $981,000. The tournament was held for the first time in 2019, when it was won by Australian Alex de Minaur. In the following years, the competition did not take place due to the coronavirus pandemic.