In the Beijing Open quarterfinals on Sunday, October 4, Novak Djokovic defeated the first seed, Alexander Zverev, with a score of 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 to continue his perfect record in the tournament at 32-0.
Djokovic, the sixth seed, overcame a one-set deficit after breaking to win the decisive games in the two latter sets.
Although Zverev had a match point opportunity at 4-5 in the third set, Djokovic closed out the match by winning that game on his second match point opportunity due to an unforced forehand error committed by Zverev.
The victory meant that Djokovic had the record for the best start to an ATP tournament in the Open Era.
He beat the record of 31 consecutive wins to open a career at the Roland Garros set by Rafael Nadal, who created this record for the first time in his career at the French Open.
Additionally, Djokovic now has a record seven appearances in the semifinals of the Beijing tournament, with his quarterfinal win being his 202nd in his career.
Zverev, who is the reigning champion of the French Open and the US Open, walked into the match in excellent form after clinching the US Open last month against Ben Shelton.
The 22-year-old fired 19 aces and made 80 percent of his first serves, but Novak Djokovic managed to convert 2 out of 5 break points and sealed the win. The world No. 1 clinched 95 out of 180 points contested in the match.
It is just the fifth time that Djokovic has lost a set in seven tournaments he has played in the China Open throughout his career.
Photo: @Photo: Global Times/X
Djokovic described his game plan to reverse the tide of the game after losing the first set.
"I tried to be aggressive, to go to the net, and to vary my rhythm, not repeating myself," he stated, outlining his strategy against Zverev.
"He is by far the best player right now; he is on a roll and on fire," Djokovic praised his opponent's present form. In an aside made after the game, Djokovic remarked playfully: "I keep working those young players for their money."
Whereas it stands out due to the fact that it took him over 11 years to accomplish this feat, with those 11 years being a gap in terms of his appearances in Beijing.
Djokovic claimed the title in his first year playing in the tournament in 2009 and increased his record to 29-0 by 2015, winning his sixth title in the city where he defeated five of his opponents in the final, including Rafa Nadal, without dropping a single match during his stay in the city.
Since then, it took him a full 11 years before returning to Beijing in order to play in the current tournament and claim three additional titles.
Now, Djokovic's record of 32-0 stands in the list of top tennis records of single-tournament dominance in the sport, second only to just one currently held active record on the women's circuit.
The outright record in tennis for best beginning in a tournament belongs to Monica Seles, who boasts an impressive 34-0 record at the Australian Open. Djokovic's 32-0 record in Beijing comes second on this list, followed by Nadal's 31-0 at Roland Garros.
In fact, tennis experts believe that this record is "going to be hard to beat in coming decades" considering how difficult it is for even a top-class player like Djokovic at 39 years old to achieve perfection for so many years against many players at one event.
It is even more meaningful considering that Djokovic is actually adding to his streak at 39, rather than defending it, since it is generally believed that the player should have been past his prime already.
In spite of the season filled with problems of physical nature, this victory against Zverev was named by many among the best results of Djokovic in 2023, on par with his Australian Open semifinal victory over the top seed Jannik Sinner.
Djokovic will be advancing to the semifinals of Beijing, where he will be facing Daniil Medvedev, the finalist of 2023, who became the second ever to reach the Beijing semifinals in four consecutive years, after Djokovic from 2012 to 2015.
However, Zverev's defeat has implications beyond just the match because of the competition to be the world No. 1 player.
Zverev still trails behind Sinner by over 1,000 points to be the No. 1 player in the world, and he would have had to win in Beijing and at the Rolex Shanghai Masters to give him a chance of surpassing Sinner this year. The defeat has ended that possibility.
