Now No. 2, Sinner is the hunter rather than the hunted again. The switch suited him at the China Open.

On his blisteringly consistent week in Japan, and what it shows about the fast-court upgrades he has made in his game since the spring.

“I had to put my head down," the 21-year-old says about his self-described “delusional” early aspirations for success after college.

Carlos Alcaraz is in Tokyo, Jannik Sinner is in Beijing, and Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff and most of the WTA’s Top 30 are at the China Open.

Here are three takeaways, as the summer tennis swing turns to fall.