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Taiwan's Chou Tien-chen overpowered his opponent in the China Open men's singles final on Sunday, becoming the oldest tournament champion in the category at age 36.World number six Chou vanquished 27-year-old Toma Junior Popov of France in three games, 21-15, 7-21, 21-13, to claim his first Super 1000 title since winning the Indonesia Open in 2019.The veteran needed just over an hour to seal the outcome in the championship matchup in Changzhou, eastern China.When an official video review showed that a final return from Popov had dropped out of bounds, an exhausted and emotional Chou kneeled face-down on the court, hands outstretched in victory.Popov, ranked 16th worldwide, had been chasing his first victory at a Super 1000 tournament.His younger brother Christo, ranked fifth, was eliminated in the round of 16 at this year's China Open.Earlier on Sunday, Japan's Akane Yamaguchi defeated host-country hope Chen Yufei to win the top prize in the women's singles final with an efficient 21-18, 21-16 performance.The final pairing represented a rematch of last year's World Championship in Paris, which was also won by Yamaguchi.26-year-old Yamaguchi is a three-time world champion and current world number three.In women's doubles, hosts Liu Shengshu and Tan Ning of China defeated Yuki Fukushima and Mayu Matsumoto of Japan in two games, 21-14, 21-19.The men's doubles competition saw reigning champions Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Shohibul Fikri of Indonesia defend their title, beating South Korea's Kim Won-ho and Seo Seung-jae in come-from-behind fashion 16-21, 21-19, 21-19.In the mixed doubles final, an all-China matchup saw Guo Xinwa and Chen Fanghui take down compatriots Feng Yanzhe and Huang Dongping in a closely contested 25-23, 20-22, 21-15 marathon lasting 88 minutes. 

World number two Jannik Sinner launched his Shanghai Masters title defence Saturday by breezing past Germany’s Daniel Altmaier 6-3, 6-3 while Alexander Zverev advanced despite toe trouble.Sinner, fresh from winning the China Open, broke early in both sets to take control and ease himself comfortably into the third round.The 49th-ranked Altmaier’s best chance came in the eighth game of the first set, but he failed to convert a breakpoint twice, allowing the Italian to hold with an ace.The second set provided even less opportunity to seriously bother the 24-year-old Wimbledon champion, but afterwards Sinner said it had been more difficult than it looked.“First match is never easy, especially when you don’t have a lot of time to adjust,” he said.“(Altmaier) is a very tough player, very talented... I just tried to stay mentally in a good point,” he added.“When I broke him twice very early in the set it gave me the confidence to serve the match out, so I’m very happy.”Sinner’s path to retaining the title has been made easier by the withdrawal of great rival Carlos Alcaraz, who dropped out last minute to rest.The Italian’s next match is Sunday against the Netherlands’ Tallon Griekspoor.Four-time Shanghai champion Novak Djokovic will take to the court again Sunday as well, facing Germany’s 150th-ranked Yannick Hanfmann.The tournament lost another top-10 player as Karen Khachanov was defeated by China’s Shang Juncheng 7-6 (7/3), 6-3.Shang, ranked 237th after slipping down the rankings due to injury, was egged on by an increasingly raucous crowd as ninth seed Khachanov flagged.Shang broke in the eighth game of the second set with a backhand.“I think I played well on the whole but I think everyone (in the crowd) must have put a lot of pressure on him,” the 20-year-old Shang laughed.World number three Zverev overcame an injury to his big toe to book his place in the third round, beating France’s Valentin Royer 6-4, 6-4.The German had a blistering start, breaking Royer in the first game and then sending down three aces to easily hold the second.The Frenchman found his feet but a crucial stumble saw him miss a break point in the eighth game, and Zverev took the set.Both players missed chances to break in the second, wowing the crowd with multiple tense rallies.Zverev finally broke in the ninth game then held the last game to win, despite having to take a medical break after limping off court.“It’s not a nice feeling to finish a match like that,” Zverev said afterwards, wincing.He said he sustained the injury during the follow-through of his serve, and would have it assessed Sunday.“I really don’t know what happened, so we’re going to check it out,” he said.World number seven Alex de Minaur comfortably dispatched Argentina’s Camilo Ugo Carabelli 6-4, 6-2.Russian Andrey Rublev, ranked 14th, was upset by qualifier Yoshihito Nishioka 2-6, 6-1, 6-4.But compatriot Daniil Medvedev dominated qualifier Dalibor Svrcina to advance 6-1, 6-1.