Novak Djokovic rolled back the years on Sunday, overcoming top seed Alexander Zverev 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 at the China Open to reach the semi-finals, where he will face Daniil Medvedev.
The 39-year-old Serb thrilled a packed Beijing crowd as he extended his remarkable winning streak at the tournament to 32 matches.
Djokovic described the victory as one of his best matches of the year, alongside his epic five-set win over Italy’s Jannik Sinner to reach the Australian Open final.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion said the victory showed he could still compete with and defeat the world’s best players on the biggest stages.
“Things are a bit different nowadays. It’s hard to be consistently playing on the highest level like the youngsters,” Djokovic told reporters.
Against the German, Djokovic relied on a varied game and what he called “high-risk tennis”. He also credited feeling “physically pretty good” on court after struggling with health issues throughout the year.
Djokovic made a poor start, double-faulting twice in the opening game to hand Zverev an immediate break.
The match was briefly interrupted by controversy when the umpire ordered a point to be replayed after Zverev complained about a flicker on the stadium’s LED panels. The decision drew boos from the crowd.
Zverev went on to take the first set, but Djokovic fought back in the second, breaking serve before sealing the set with a cross-court winner.
Despite facing 19 aces from the German, Djokovic remained composed on serve in the deciding set and moved 5-4 ahead.
He then broke Zverev to close out the match after two hours and 34 minutes, producing a performance that belied his recent physical struggles.
Djokovic will meet former world number one Medvedev in the semi-finals after the Russian defeated Francisco Cerundolo 7-6 (7/4), 6-3.
Hubert Hurkacz also reached the last four by beating Karen Khachanov. The Pole will face Australia’s Alex de Minaur, who battled back from a set down to defeat Andrey Rublev 1-6, 6-2, 6-3.
Sabalenka crashes out
Aryna Sabalenka was eliminated in straight sets in the third round, leaving the women’s draw without its top two seeds.
Czech qualifier Nikola Bartunkova, 20, fired four aces as she stunned the former world number one 6-4, 6-3 in one hour and 35 minutes.
“I focused on myself, to be calm,” said Bartunkova, ranked 34th in the world.
“She’s a legend… so I’m really happy that I won the match,” she added of the four-time Grand Slam champion.
Bartunkova will face Austria’s Sinja Kraus in the round of 16.
A frustrated Sabalenka threw her racquet after being broken in the fourth game of the second set before losing the match on the first match point when she sent a return into the net.
Top seed Elena Rybakina, who recently replaced Sabalenka as world number one, had already been knocked out in the second round by Alina Charaeva.
French Open champion Mirra Andreeva of Russia advanced to the fourth round, where she will face Ukraine’s Daria Snigur, while Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova eased past Viktorija Golubic 6-2, 6-1.
Noskova will next meet 28th-ranked Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova.
Naomi Osaka, the 2019 China Open champion, defeated Sara Bejlek and will face the winner of Karolina Muchova’s clash with Liudmila Samsonova.
AFP
