Djokovic Claims Seventh China Open Title After De Minaur Retires with Injury in Final
Djokovic Wins Seventh China Open as De Minaur Withdraws
Novak Djokovic secured the China Open championship after Alex de Minaur retired injured during the final on Tuesday in Beijing. Both players required medical timeouts shortly after the first set began, with De Minaur suffering a groin injury that forced him to quit after winning the opening game of the second set.
The 39-year-old Djokovic triumphed with a score of 7-6 (3), 0-1 when De Minaur retired, extending his flawless record at this event to 34-0.
"I always have high expectations of myself and want to picture holding the trophy, especially here in Beijing, where I've never been beaten," Djokovic said. "But I also knew things are a bit different now."
Returning to Beijing for the first time since his last title here in 2015, Djokovic’s seventh win at this tournament marked his 102nd ATP Tour title. He now trails only Roger Federer by one, while Jimmy Connors holds the Open era record with 109 titles.
Earlier this year, Djokovic’s only final loss came against Carlos Alcaraz at the Australian Open.
"This year has been tough with many physical and health challenges," Djokovic admitted. "I’ve been trying to regain my rhythm on court. When I feel good and hit the ball well, I can compete at the highest level. This week showed that."
This tournament saw Djokovic overcome three top-10 opponents for the first time in three years. He defeated U.S. Open champion Alexander Zverev in the quarterfinals and advanced past Daniil Medvedev in the semifinals after Medvedev was disqualified for hitting a spectator with a ball.
Ranked No. 9, De Minaur kept the No. 11 Djokovic in check during the first set with aggressive groundstrokes and saved two break points. However, unforced errors cost him the tiebreak, where he managed only three winners compared to Djokovic’s eleven.
"I want to apologize to all the amazing fans who came to see this match," De Minaur said. "I didn’t want it to end this way, so I’m really sorry."
De Minaur reached the final after Hubert Hurkacz retired due to injury in their second-round match. He had been aiming for his first Beijing title and a second title of the year following his Rotterdam victory in February.
Women’s Tournament Highlights
In other action, 34th-ranked Nikola Bartunkova continued her strong run after beating Sinja Kraus 6-0, 4-6, 6-3 in the women’s round of 16. Bartunkova had earlier stunned second seed Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets during the third round.
Meanwhile, fifth-seeded Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova suffered an upset, losing 6-2, 6-2 to 19th-seeded Ekaterina Alexandrova. Seventh-seeded Karolina Muchova survived a tough match to defeat 12th-seeded Naomi Osaka 7-5, 1-6, 7-6 (7).
