Djokovic returns to China Tennis Open, wins and extends unbeaten streak

Djokovic. (Reuters)

After an absence of 11 years, Novak Djokovic returned to the China Open. In his debut, he defeated Portuguese opponent Nuno Borges 6:3, 7:6 (7:2). The 39-year-old Serbian veteran got off to a great start and rewrote the perfect record of 30 wins and 0 losses in tournament history.

This men's and women's ATP500 level professional hard court tournament is being held in Beijing. Djokovic has returned for the first time since 2015. Facing Borges, who was defeated by Athens 11 months ago, the well-known sixth seed continued his unbeaten myth and took the lead in breaking serve at the 3:0 start and taking advantage of the trend to win the set. Although Djokovic applied for a medical timeout due to physical discomfort at 2:3 of the second set, he played steadily again and opened the gap to 5:1 in the tiebreaker. It took 1 hour and 51 minutes to win in straight 2 and bid farewell to the three-game losing streak in the Cincinnati Masters and the US Open since the top four of the Wimbledon Championship on July 10.

After the game, Djokovic paid tribute to the 15,000 spectators at the scene. He admitted that he was indeed in some condition when Borges counterattacked in the second set. "He started to play better, but I had some physical problems and it was difficult to maintain sufficient energy." Fortunately, the serving feel is still excellent, with an 86% first-server scoring rate, allowing the popular veteran to get rid of the turmoil smoothly. "This is very helpful for my serve game. I played even better in the seventh game and won the game in straight 2. I am very satisfied with it."

As the last active member of the legendary "Big Three", Djokovic has won the championship six times in Beijing from 2009 to 2015, and his overwhelming advantage has been fully demonstrated. Now that he has returned to the blessed land, can he rebound from the bottom and achieve new results? Attracted by fans. As for the opponent in the top 16, it is the Chinese landlord Buyun Chaokete who made an upset appearance.