Nadal to face Chinese Wu Di in Beijing

Spanish tennis icon Rafael Nadal will meet Chinese world No.224 Wu Di in the first round of the China Open, which kicks off here early next week, and could face Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga a couple of rounds later.

Also in Nadal’s half of the draw, which was released on Saturday, are <g data-gr-id="12">second seeded</g> Czech Tomas Berdych, who will square off against Uruguay’s Pablo Cuevas in the first round, Efe reported.

Nadal, the third seed, arrives in the Chinese capital after losing on Friday to Serbian world No.1 Novak Djokovic in an exhibition match in Bangkok.

The 14-time Grand Slam champion, who has struggled through his worst season in more than a decade and is now ranked No.7, lost in the third round of the US Open last month to Italian Fabio Fognini. He could face Tsonga in Friday’s quarter-finals and Berdych in Saturday’s semi-finals.