Novak Djokovic overcame lingering physical concerns and a challenging start to defeat top-seeded Alexander Zverev 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 on Sunday, securing his spot in the China Open semifinals. The victory extends the Serbian star’s perfect record at the Beijing tournament.
Djokovic, a six-time champion at the ATP 500 event, is returning to the court in the Chinese capital for the first time since 2015. He faced a stern test from Zverev, the reigning French Open and US Open champion, who fired 19 aces during the two-hour and 35-minute encounter. This marked the first meeting between the rivals in nearly 16 months.
The German took the opening set after capitalizing on early errors from Djokovic, who admitted to a poor warm-up due to cold conditions. “I had a terrible start – two double faults at the beginning. It was quite cold, and honestly, I didn’t feel warmed up, but my fault,” Djokovic said. “I gave him an early break, and then it was hard to come back in the first set.”
The match featured a brief controversy when Zverev demanded a video review after electronic advertising signage briefly failed during a rally. Although replays indicated the outage did not coincide with Zverev’s missed forehand, the chair umpire ordered the point to be replayed, drawing frustration from Djokovic.
The momentum shifted late in the second set when Djokovic broke at 5-4 to level the contest. He repeated the crucial break in the third set at the same scoreline to clinch the win. “I was trying to be aggressive and come to the net and change up the pace,” Djokovic explained. “I am just glad that I held my nerves, played good shots at important moments, 5-4 in the second and third.”
With this result, Djokovic moves closer to a seventh China Open title and his first trophy of the season, while denying Zverev a chance to further consolidate his position in the rankings for world number one. The Serbian will face Daniil Medvedev in the semifinals after the Russian defeated Francisco Cerundolo 7-6 (4), 6-3 earlier in the day.
In other developments, World No. 1 Elena Rybakina announced her withdrawal from the upcoming Wuhan Open due to a foot injury. The Kazakh player suffered a surprise first-round exit at the China Open to Alina Charaeva on Saturday. Rybakina, who recently won her third Grand Slam title at the US Open and claimed the world number one ranking, stated she would take time to rest and recover. She is expected to return at the Ningbo Open later this month.
Sad to see Rybakina withdraw after her US Open win. Hope her foot recovers quickly before Ningbo. The depth in WTA is strong right now.
Wait, the replay decision was so controversial. Zverev deserved that point, and it clearly rattled Novak early on.
Incredible comeback by Djokovic. His ability to adjust and come to the net was the key difference in those crucial tie-breaks.