Andy Murray will face Chinese wildcard Zhizhen Zhang in his first round match in Shenzhen as he looks to build momentum for the 2019 season.
The Brit is playing his first match since his second round US Open defeat to Fernando Verdasco, where he lost in four sets to the Spaniard.
The three time grand slam champion returns to Shenzhen for the first time since winning the title in 2014 and will face Chinese wildcard Zhizhen Zhang in his first match.
The 21 year is currently 342 in the world and made a dream run to the quarter-finals last year in his home country before losing to Henri Laaksonen.
Should Murray advance to the second round, he will play top seed David Goffin who is currently representing Team Europe in the Laver Cup.
Other seeds in next week’s 250 event includes Rogers Cup runner-up, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Croatian Davis Cup hero Borna Coric.
Shenzhen will be Murray’s sixth event of the season after recuperating a hip injury and has won five of his nine matches this season. The 31 year old will look to return to winning form and increase his ranking this week as he looks to be healthier in 2019.
Another Brit, Cameron Norrie looks to rediscover his form in Shenzhen as well as he plays another Chinese wildcard Di Wu in the first round. The 23 year old looks to continue his momentum with a strong Asian swing and should the Brit win could face third seed Borna Coric next.
