Djokovic surpasses Burgess and reaches the second round in Beijing despite physical suffering

Veteran Serbian star Novak Djokovic, who dropped in the professional rankings to eleventh place, reached the second round of the Beijing Tennis Tournament (500 points) despite physical suffering, a month after his early exit from “Flushing Meadows,” where he admitted that his body was starting to “abandon me.”

The former world number one defeated the forty-ninth Portuguese Nuno Borges 6-3, 7-6 (7-2), achieving his first victory since July, when he reached the semi-finals of the Wimbledon Championship.

In his first official match since his loss in the first round of the US Championship, the holder of the 24 major titles started strongly, breaking his opponent’s serve in the second half to quickly take a 3-0 lead.

But the player, who has not suffered any defeat in the 30 matches he has played so far in the Beijing tournament, gradually seemed as if he was suffering under the weight of his 39 years in his first match in this beloved tournament since 2015, when he won the title for the fourth time in a row and the sixth in his career.

Djokovic sometimes seemed to be panting at the end of the exchanges, and he also appeared limited in movement and made expressions of pain between points.

The Belgrade native fought to save two break points when the score was 4-2 in his favor, also benefiting from a direct error committed by Burgis in the second chance.

That was enough to decide the first set 6-3, before he left the court for a few minutes.

Upon his return to the main court in Beijing, it became clear that Djokovic's physical problems continued, as he was seen massaging his back in pain since the second half.

He received treatment on his right arm, ribs, and the middle of his rib cage when Burgess was ahead 3-2, but he was able to win his service games easily and without losing a single point.

He even had a chance to break the serve at 4-4, but he failed to take advantage of it, before eventually deciding the match via a tie-break.

In the second round, Djokovic will meet Chinese Bo Yunchaoketi, ranked 104th in the world.