Andy Murray will continue his bid to overtake Novak Djokovic at the top of the world rankings after deciding to take part in the China Open.
Murray has targeted Djokovic's No 1 spot following a superb summer, but after suffering a thigh strain in Great Britain's Davis Cup defeat to Argentina a fortnight ago, he said he was in need of a rest and would take a look at his schedule.
The Scotsman has decided to play in Beijing, however, and __can close the gap on Djokovic by 1,000 points if he wins the tournament.
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Djokovic pulled out earlier in the week, continuing a frustrating few months for the Serbian.
He suffered a surprise early exit at Wimbledon, later attributed to personal issues, while also suffering a first round exit at the Olympics before withdrawing from the Cincinnati Open in August.
Djokovic came into the US Open with lingering fitness concerns, but made it to the final where he lost to Stan Wawrinka.
The 29-year-old's withdrawal has allowed Murray the opportunity to take top spot and with plenty of points to play for before the end of the season - all of which Djokovic is defending owing to his superb 2015 form - an ascent to the summit is not out of the question before the end of 2016.
Murray will be the top seed in Beijing and will face Italian Andreas Seppi, ranked 94 in the world, in the first round, with Murray having won their last seven meetings.
Meanwhile, Kyle Edmund is through to the second round of qualifying after he beat Spaniard Pablo Andujar Alba 6-3 6-2 and will make the main draw if he __can see off the challenge of Evgeny Donskoy on Sunday.
However, Dan Evans lost his qualifier for the Japan Tennis Open Championships as he was beaten 6-3 4-6 6-3.
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