
Rafael Nadal played his first ATP match since the U.S. Open and had a nice draw, up against a wildcard ranked outside the top 200.

But Nadal, mirroring his season, struggled against Wu Di. At one stage in the second set he lost 11 of 13 points.

But Wu missed a chance to force a decider, losing the last four games.

Nadal eventually triumphed 6-4 6-4 and next has a tougher task on paper, playing big-serving Canadian Vasek Pospisil.

There were no issues whatsoever for the men's player of the season, Novak Djokovic, in his first match since winning the U.S. Open.

World No. 1 Djokovic, who won three of the four majors in 2015, crushed the flashy Italian Simone Bolelli 6-1 6-1.

Djokovic is the three-time defending champion in Beijing and has won the title five times in total.