Action underway on Sky Sports from Monday morning through to the finals on Sunday
Tuesday 3 October 2017 10:31, UK
Rafael Nadal returns to ATP Tour action this week, with Sky Sports bringing you a double header from Japan and China as the Race to London enters the final straight.
With the final two Masters events of the season around the corner, starting with Shanghai in just over a week, the big names will be looking to play themselves into form after the traditional lull following the US Open.
And Sky Sports will cover all of the week's action with both the China Open from Beijing and Japan Open from Tokyo live across the week on Sky Sports Action, Arena and Main Event, kicking off on Monday morning from 4am - check our Live on Sky page for the week's agenda, and set your alarm!
Roger Federer and Nadal have already secured their places at the season-ending World Tour Finals and a host of names are looking to join them where a strong week will do them the power of good.
As well as the season finale at the O2 in London, the Race to Milan is on the agenda as the ATP's emerging stars look to join Alexander Zverev in booking a place at the NextGen Finals in Milan.
Here's what's in store.....
US Open champion Nadal is back on the court after claiming his third title at Flushing Meadows and his 16th career Grand Slam.
The Spaniard has enjoyed a stellar season, winning an ATP-leading five titles (the same as Federer and Zverev) while returning to the top of the world rankings for the first time since July 2014.
Joining Nadal is world no 4 Zverev, who has struggled since claiming the Rogers Cup with victory over Federer and he suffered a surprise defeat to Damir Dzumhur on Friday in Shenzhen - but a good showing could secure his place in London.
Grigor Dimitrov, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Juan Martin del Potro and Nick Kyrgios complete a strong-looking field which also has Pablo Carreno Busta out to consolidate his place in the top eight of the Race after a surprise run to the last four in New York.
In Japan, it is world no 5 Marin Cilic who leads a field that includes Dominic Thiem, Milos Raonic, David Goffin and Gael Monfils.
Thiem and Cilic are well placed for a return to London at the end of the season but have struggled of late, Thiem suffering a shock defeat to Guido Pella in Chengdu last week while Cilic has largely focused on the Davis Cup, having only played the US Open since his defeat to Federer in the Wimbledon final.
Raonic is another who has suffered injury problems this season and he is 18th in the Race to London. Having played only two tournaments since Wimbledon he will be keen to just get some match action under his belt. The Canadian lost to Adrian Mannarino in Montreal during his last tournament outing.
Like Carreno Busta in China, Sam Querrey is aiming to keep hold of an unlikely spot at the season-end World Tour Finals. The American occupies the final spot with Stan Wawrinka and Novak Djokovic missing the rest of the season through injury.
Sky Sports coverage of the ATP Tour continues on Monday with both the China Open and Japan Open live throughout the week, starting on Monday from 4am.
Sky Sports Tennis will have all the action in Asia and the Paris Masters before the Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan and season-ending extravaganza World Tour Finals at London's O2 in November covered via our website www.skysports.com/tennis with live blogs and updates as the season reaches its climax.
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