Essentials Inside The Story
- Novak Djokovic builds up on his confidence after revealing his retirement plan.
- The Serbian enters the China Open after 11 years with a record his opponent called "crazy."
- The GOAT is looking for his seventh China Open title, but first win of the season, as many rivals block his path.
As Father Time and eventual retirement loomed over Novak Djokovic, he played spoilsport and revealed his timeline last November. After a fairy-tale-like career, in which he has captured every record, the Serbian wants to represent his country one last time in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. It is a lofty goal, but he hasn’t yet lost the focus and passion for winning. However, he now enters Beijing after 11 years, and he has a lot more to lose here.
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You see, he hasn’t lost a single tournament at the China Open, beating the likes of Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, Tomas Berdych, and David Ferrer to collect six titles. While he can win his seventh this week, the first of the season, you cannot ignore the lingering issues he is struggling with. But in his pre-tournament press conference, Djokovic removed all doubts about why he was in Beijing to begin with.
“Well, it’s never just to enjoy, you know, I could play exhibitions just to enjoy the style,” he said in his presser. “You know, playing a professional tournament, because I also want to win, and that’s actually the primary motivation, is always trying to compete and win against the guy across the net on a given day and try to get as far as you can in the tournament.”
The record he possesses on Chinese soil backs up his confidence.
Djokovic has won the China Open all six times he has participated — 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015 — posting a perfect 29-0 record. No man on any other tour-level tournament holds a record like this since the ATP was founded in 1990. If he wins again, it could be his 102nd career trophy, moving him one step closer to Jimmy Connors’ all-time record of 109 and past Roger Federer’s 103. He leaned on that history himself despite the physical setbacks of the past two months.
“My record speaks for itself on the Chinese soil, so knowing that it also brings this dimension of confidence that I really need,” he said. “Overall it’s been really good so far with the body and the way I’m feeling and playing.
“The history of my results on Chinese soil has been incredible, and I haven’t played here in 11 years, so I’m trying to make it work in the past years with the schedule, but the schedule worked in such a way where I played only Shanghai, but this year Beijing was on a priority list, so I’m really glad I’m here.”
Confident or not, the reality in front of Djokovic remains that he has an uphill battle in Beijing.
Djokovic still searching for his first title this season
The Serbian opened up against Nuno Borges, leading their head-to-head 1-0. But he successfully extended his China Open record to 30-0 in as many matches with a 6-3, 7-6 win. However, it didn’t come without a hiccup.
Djokovic had to call for a medical timeout in the second set on Wednesday. Yet, he was able to dominate his opponent quite well. Interestingly, Borges already knew what he was taking on.
The two had faced each other in the quarterfinals in Athens in 2025. But much bigger than that familiarity was knowing the Serb’s record at the China Open.
“Crazy statistic,” he understandably called it.
Djokovic’s reason to call on the medical timeout will certainly be monitored going ahead. In the second round, he meets China’s Bu Yunchaokete. The latter defeated Juan Manuel Cerundolo in three sets of 2-6, 7-5, 4-6 in over two hours. But even if Djokovic defeats Yunchaokete, the path to the title doesn’t become easy.
They are all sitting in the same quarter as top seed Alexander Zverev, who inherited the No. 1 spot in the draw after Jannik Sinner’s withdrawal. The rest of the field is stacked as well.
Second seed Felix Auger-Aliassime, Hangzhou champion Daniil Medvedev, Flavio Cobolli, Alex de Minaur and Jakub Mensik all pose a huge challenge for the 39-year-old if he is to maintain the record. This year, the 24-time Grand Slam champion carries a 14-7 record into Beijing.
His best results came at the Australian Open, where he lost the final to Carlos Alcaraz, and Wimbledon, where he fell in the semifinals to eventual champion Sinner. He has fallen out of the top ten rankings for the first time since 2018. Additionally, he has never completed a year without winning a title, but this year is hitting differently.
However, Djokovic has pushed back on any questions regarding his farewell and has made his motive clear, which is to win every tournament he enters. Will he keep his Beijing record intact alongside winning a title every year he has competed?