By Chris Oddo | Tuesday October 6, 2015
Novak Djokovic opened his bid for a sixth Beijing title with a straight-sets takedown of Italy's Simone Bolelli.
Photo Source: Chris Hyde/Getty
Novak Djokovic started his bid for a sixth China Open title with a vintage performance on Tuesday at the China Open, taking down Italian Simone Bolelli, 6-1, 6-1, for his 25th consecutive victory in the Chinese capital.
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Djokovic raced out to a 5-1 lead before he encountered any turbulence, but when he did he was up to the task. The Serb rallied from triple-break point down to hold, saving a total of four break points to serve out the set.
The hard-hitting Italian went on the attack early in the second set, but Bolelli could not convert a break point in the second game to gain the edge. After Bolelli fought off three break points in the next game, Djokovic finally clicked on his fourth opportunity to break for 2-1.
Two games later a Bolelli double-fault gave Djokovic an insurmountable 4-1 lead. By then the wind was out of Bolelli’s sails. A blistering backhand gave Djokovic 2 match points with Bolelli serving at 1-5, and on the next point a perfectly placed backhand return, which landed right at the feet of Bolelli, forced the error and ended the shellacking.
Djokovic finished with 22 winners against 14 unforced errors, and broke Bolelli five times on ten opportunities in the 71-minute affair.
The ten-time major champ improves to 64-5 on the year and 41-4 on hard courts. He will continue his bid for a sixth Beijing title against Chinese wild card Ze Zhang in the second round.