Novak Djokovic came from a set down to beat top seed Alexander Zverev 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 in the China Open quarter-finals in Beijing, extending his perfect record at the ATP 500 event to 32-0 and setting up a semi-final against Daniil Medvedev.
Beijing, China: It was cold, the start was shaky and the first set had already gone to the player seeded number one. At 39, with 2026 still without a title and a season record of 17-7, Novak Djokovic had every reason to look for the exit. Instead he did what he has done in this city for more than a decade: he found a way.
The six-time champion is back at the China Open for the first time since 2015, chasing a seventh title and his first trophy of the year. Sunday’s quarter-final against Zverev was the biggest test of the week, and it lasted roughly two and a half hours.
Two double faults and a cold start
Zverev, serving with the confidence of a man who had arrived as the tournament’s top seed, took the opening set 6-4. Djokovic was honest about why. “I had a terrible start – two double faults at the beginning,” he said afterwards. “It was quite cold, and honestly, I didn’t feel warmed up.”
The German’s serve was the central problem. Djokovic acknowledged as much, saying that “with a great confidence that he’s got, with the big serving, it’s such a difficult task to play against him.” Holding comfortably was one thing; getting a look at a return game was another.
Changing the pattern
The Serbian’s answer was to stop trading from the baseline on Zverev’s terms. “I was trying to be aggressive and come to the net and change up the pace, not giving the same pattern,” Djokovic explained. The tactic gradually pulled the German out of his rhythm and gave Djokovic openings that had not existed in the first set.
The second set stayed on serve deep into the match. Djokovic said he was pleased with how his body held up, noting he had felt physically good in recent days and that this “wasn’t the case for most of the year.”
The break at 5-4
The turning point arrived late in the second set. With Zverev serving at 4-5, Djokovic converted his first break point to level the match at a set apiece. He took it.
The deciding set followed the same script. Once again the match came down to 5-4, once again Zverev was serving to stay in it, and once again Djokovic broke in the final game to close out the win. Both breaks came in the final game of a set, at the moments that mattered most.
“These are the kind of moments that I still play for, compete for… these are the kind of moments that define dreams,” Djokovic said. He described it as “probably one of the two best matches that I played this year,” placing it alongside his Australian Open semi-final against Jannik Sinner.
A record Nadal never reached
The victory pushed Djokovic’s unbeaten run in Beijing to 32 matches. That surpasses Rafael Nadal’s 31 consecutive wins at the French Open and makes it the longest unbeaten streak at a single tournament in the Open Era.
The result also offers a lift after a difficult stretch. Djokovic’s first-round loss to Navone at the US Open was the first time he had gone out of a New York opener, and he arrived in China searching for momentum. A win over the top seed is a strong place to start.
Medvedev next, de Minaur waiting
Awaiting Djokovic in the semi-finals is Daniil Medvedev, who beat Francisco Cerundolo 7-6(4), 6-3 in the other quarter-final. Djokovic leads the head-to-head 10-5.
The winner of that semi-final will meet Alex de Minaur in Tuesday’s final. De Minaur has already booked his place after Hubert Hurkacz retired while trailing 6-4, 3-2 in their semi-final on Monday.
Score: Novak Djokovic (SRB) bt Alexander Zverev (GER, 1) 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 — China Open (ATP 500), Beijing, quarter-final
Next: Djokovic v Daniil Medvedev, semi-final
