By Richard Pagliaro | Sunday, October 4, 2026
Photo credit: Screen Shot
Beijing fans erupted in roars of excitement as the blockbuster hit climax crescendo.
Throwing down a flurry of forehands like a judge hammering a gavel to punctuate a decision, Novak Djokovic defeated top-seeded Alexander Zverev 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 to extend his perfect China Open record.
It’s a milestone moment for Djokovic, who raised his Beijing record to a spotless 32-0 becoming the first man in Open Era history to win his first 32 matches at a single event.
The 39-year-old Serbian superstar became the third man age 39 or older to defeat a Top 3-ranked player and burst into a record-extending seventh Beijing semifinal where he will face fellow former No. 1 Daniil Medvedev.
After absorbing an extended ovation from Beijing fans, Djokovic said these pulsating wins against Grand Slam champions are the fuel that drive him to continue competing and the proof he can still beat the best when at his best.
“I’ll repeat it again: these kind of matches are the biggest motivation why I keep on competing and why I keep on pushing myself pretty much on a daily or weekly basis to train and get myself on this level to be prepared to play the matches like tonight against the best players in the world and to win,” Djokovic told the media in Beijing. “That’s a kind of a proof or an evidence to me that I can still beat the best players in the world on the biggest stage.
“I always knew that. I always know that.”
Grand Slam king Djokovic is also the only man to win all nine Masters 1000 championships since the format’s inception.
Despite sometime super-human success, Djokovic is human and suffers cracking confidence like all players, his former coach, Andy Murray, recently shared with Andy Roddick on his podcast.
“When you’re coming to the end of your career, you know more doubts creep in as well,” former No. 1 Andy Murray told Andy Roddick in a recent episode of his Served podcast. “That was probably the biggest surprise for me, is like this is a guy that I’ve looked at and we would all agree he’s probably mentally one of the toughest out there across all sports.
“But it’s just like how many doubts he has about himself and his own game. And before big matches and in training. And it’s like if I’d known that when I was playing against you, I would have felt a lot more confident.”
At crunch time today, Djokovic was swinging freely and asserting his aggression. Djokovic broke in the final game of both the second and third sets, firing some crackling crosscourt forehands to draw errors from the US Open champion’s forehand wing.
Djokovic, who snapped a three-match losing streak with his 6-3, 7-6(2) win over Nuno Borges in his Beijing opener, said the challenge of playing on the pro circuit at age 39 is playing enough to maintain his edge and confidence without risking injury by over playing.
“Things are a bit different nowadays. It’s hard to be consistently playing on the highest level like the youngsters,” Djokovic said. “I’m really happy with myself and proud of the effort. As I said, the feeling overall is really good.
“Of course, when you’re playing this well, then confidence is higher, then you kind of forget about all the issues and challenges, and you just keep on moving.”
The sixth-seeded Djokovic continues his hunt for a 102nd career championship against Medvedev in the Beijing semifinals.
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