Novak Djokovic marked his return to competitive play in Beijing on Wednesday by securing his first win since Wimbledon, defeating Nuno Borges of Portugal 6-3, 7-6 (7-2) at the China Open. This victory extended Djokovic's remarkable record at the event to 30 consecutive wins, and it was his first appearance there in 11 years.
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Although Djokovic required a medical timeout in the second set, he managed to advance to the second round. He will next face Buyunchaokete Bu, a home favorite who won his match against Juan Manuel Cerundolo 6-2, 5-7, 6-4.
"In the second set he started playing better and I struggled a little bit physically to stay fresh," Djokovic said after the match. He acknowledged that he had arrived in Beijing following early exits at the US Open and the ATP Masters 1000 event in Cincinnati. "When I was serving, I was dominating and going through my games quite comfortably. It helped getting those first serves in, and I played a great tie-break to close it out in two, so I am very happy about that."
The 39-year-old experienced a bit of discomfort during the match but bounced back, winning his next two service games without dropping a point. Djokovic broke Borges' serve early, and while there was only one break in the match, it was a crucial one. He quickly took control in the tie-break, securing the match with just one of the four match points he had available after Borges found the net.
"That was a really competitive match by the end of it," said Annabel Croft on Sky Sports Tennis. She noted Djokovic's ability to find his rhythm despite the physical challenges he faced during the match.
Additionally, in other matches, Katie Boulter began her campaign in Beijing with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Japan's Mai Hontama and will face seventh seed Karolina Muchova next, marking their third career meeting. US Open semi-finalist Karen Khachanov defeated Felix Auger-Aliassime with a score of 6-3, 6-3.