BEIJING, China, October 5, 2026: Novak Djokovic left Beijing 11 years ago with six China Open trophies, 29 victories and no defeats.
He came back in 2026 to find out whether the relationship still worked.
Four matches later, the answer is becoming almost absurd.
Djokovic advanced to the China Open final on Monday when Daniil Medvedev retired with the Serbian leading 7-5, 5-3 on Diamond Court. The victory takes Djokovic’s career record at the tournament to 33-0 and leaves him one win from a seventh Beijing title.
Story at a glance
How Did Novak Djokovic Get Past Daniil Medvedev?
The semifinal statistics tell a match of persistent pressure rather than comfortable control.
Why Were Medvedev’s 18 Break Points the Defining Statistic?
Eighteen break opportunities in less than two completed sets should normally place a player in a commanding position.
Why Is Beijing Different for Djokovic?
There are tournaments players dominate.
Djokovic’s China Open Record Is Now 33-0
His route through the 2026 tournament has not been easy.
What Does Beijing Say About Djokovic’s Difficult 2026 Season?
Context makes this final more important than another ATP 500 title match.
The retirement ended the semifinal prematurely, but it should not obscure what had happened before it.
Medvedev created 18 break-point opportunities.
He converted only two.
Djokovic created 10 and converted four.
That difference explains more about the match than the ace count, first-serve percentage or even the 90-76 total-points margin.
Djokovic was under pressure repeatedly. He simply kept preventing pressure from becoming scoreboard damage.
For a player whose difficult 2026 season has repeatedly raised questions about physical endurance, recovery and whether his body can still support his tactical brilliance, Beijing is producing the strongest counterargument yet.
TSE examined those concerns after Djokovic’s historic first-round US Open exit and again in our deeper analysis asking whether Djokovic had really lost his competitive edge.
Less than six weeks later, he is playing for another trophy in the city where he still has never lost.
How Did Novak Djokovic Get Past Daniil Medvedev?
The semifinal statistics tell a match of persistent pressure rather than comfortable control.
| Statistic | Novak Djokovic | Daniil Medvedev |
|---|---|---|
| Aces | 3 | 4 |
| Double Faults | 6 | 3 |
| First Serve % | 64% | 59% |
| First-Serve Points Won | 71% | 59% |
| Second-Serve Points Won | 48% | 46% |
| Break Points Converted | 4/10 | 2/18 |
| Receiving Points Won | 36 | 37 |
| Total Points Won | 90 | 76 |
| Games Won | 12 | 8 |
| Service Points Won | 54 | 39 |
| Service Games Won | 8 | 6 |
Djokovic did not produce an untouchable serving performance.
Six double faults made sure of that.
Medvedev also won one more receiving point overall, 37 to 36.
Yet Djokovic still accumulated a 14-point overall advantage because the points he won on serve carried much greater value.
He won 71% of his first-serve points compared with Medvedev’s 59%, while the difference on second serve was smaller at 48% to 46%.
The serve therefore did not remove pressure.
It gave Djokovic enough protection to survive it.
Why Were Medvedev’s 18 Break Points the Defining Statistic?
Eighteen break opportunities in less than two completed sets should normally place a player in a commanding position.
Medvedev converted two.
That is an 11.1% conversion rate.
Djokovic converted four of 10, or 40%.
The gap is enormous.
It also illustrates why Djokovic remains so dangerous even when the raw numbers do not suggest complete domination.
He has spent more than two decades becoming exceptionally difficult to finish on the points that decide service games.
Medvedev repeatedly reached the door.
Djokovic repeatedly kept it closed.
The contrast becomes even more striking because Medvedev entered Beijing in excellent form.
Only six days earlier, he had beaten Andrey Rublev to win the Hangzhou Open, firing 23 aces in one of his strongest serving displays of the year. TSE examined that performance in our report on Medvedev’s Hangzhou title.
He then reached the Beijing semifinal without dropping a set, beating Pablo Carreno Busta, Jan-Lennard Struff and Francisco Cerundolo.
This was not a struggling opponent waiting to be removed.
Djokovic had to keep saving himself.
Why Is Beijing Different for Djokovic?
There are tournaments players dominate.
Then there is Djokovic in Beijing.
He first played the China Open in 2009.
He won it.
He returned in 2010 and won again.
He did not play in 2011, then collected four consecutive championships from 2012 through 2015.
When he left after defeating Rafael Nadal in the 2015 final, his China Open record stood at 29-0.
Djokovic did not return for 11 years.
The official China Open documented his long-awaited comeback when he defeated Nuno Borges 6-3, 7-6(2) and improved to 30-0 in his first match back in Beijing.
The remarkable part is not simply that he remembered how to win here.
He returned at 39 during one of the most physically complicated seasons of his career and immediately resumed the streak as though the missing decade belonged to somebody else.
Djokovic’s China Open Record Is Now 33-0
His route through the 2026 tournament has not been easy.
| Round | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Round of 32 | Nuno Borges | 6-3, 7-6(2) |
| Round of 16 | Yunchaokete Bu | 4-6, 7-6(2), 6-2 |
| Quarterfinal | Alexander Zverev | 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 |
| Semifinal | Daniil Medvedev | 7-5, 5-3, ret. |
Borges pushed the second set into a tiebreak.
Bu won the opening set and forced Djokovic into nearly three hours of work.
Zverev, the reigning Roland Garros and US Open champion, also took the first set before Djokovic recovered.
The official China Open described the Zverev victory as the win that moved Djokovic to 32 consecutive Beijing victories.
Medvedev has now become No. 33.
The pattern matters.
This has not been a veteran champion gliding through an accommodating draw.
Djokovic has repeatedly had to find a solution after the match became uncomfortable.
What Does Beijing Say About Djokovic’s Difficult 2026 Season?
Context makes this final more important than another ATP 500 title match.
Djokovic’s year began with another extraordinary Australian Open run, but Carlos Alcaraz denied him the championship.
Physical questions then followed him through several stages of the season.
He skipped Montreal while carefully managing his schedule before the US Open, a decision TSE explored in our report on why Djokovic and Jannik Sinner missed the National Bank Open.
He returned in Cincinnati partly to build hard-court match rhythm. TSE explained why that tournament mattered in our analysis of Djokovic’s Cincinnati comeback.
Instead, Thiago Agustin Tirante eliminated him in his first match.
The physical difficulties during that defeat raised another warning, examined in TSE’s post-Cincinnati fitness analysis.
Then came New York.
Mariano Navone defeated Djokovic in five sets in the US Open first round, his earliest Grand Slam exit in two decades.
TSE’s US Open curtain-raiser had already identified the central dilemma: Djokovic could still beat virtually anyone in one match, but surviving seven best-of-five contests at 39 had become a different physical equation.
Beijing asks something less demanding.
Best-of-three tennis gives Djokovic more room to use experience, return pressure and situational control without accumulating Grand Slam-level mileage.
That format appears to suit exactly what he can still do exceptionally well.
Did Djokovic’s Body Finally Give Him a Break in Beijing?
Not completely.
Djokovic needed medical attention earlier in the tournament and openly described 2026 as a difficult season physically.
The question has therefore never been whether the problems suddenly disappeared.
It is whether he can manage them well enough to remain dangerous.
Against Zverev, Djokovic survived two hours and 34 minutes against one of the strongest players in the world.
One day later, he faced Medvedev, one of the game’s most physically stubborn hard-court opponents.
He was still able to withstand 18 break points and win the decisive exchanges.
That is meaningful evidence.
It is not proof that the physical concerns are over.
The final against Alex de Minaur will test them again.
Why Did Medvedev’s China Run Still Matter?
The retirement is a disappointing ending to what had been one of Medvedev’s strongest stretches of the season.
He arrived in Beijing immediately after winning Hangzhou.
He then beat Carreno Busta 6-4, 6-2, Struff 6-4, 6-3 and Cerundolo 7-6(4), 6-3.
The China Open itself noted that Medvedev had reached the semifinals in all four of his Beijing appearances before meeting Djokovic.
His Asian swing therefore still represents progress.
The unresolved question is physical.
Until Medvedev or the tournament provides more detailed information about why he stopped, any diagnosis would be speculation.
That matters because the Shanghai Masters begins almost immediately after Beijing.
Why Is Alex de Minaur a Completely Different Final Problem?
Djokovic has spent two consecutive rounds dealing with very different versions of heavy pressure.
Zverev brought elite serving and first-strike power.
Medvedev brought deep return position, relentless rally tolerance and an ability to make service games uncomfortable.
De Minaur brings speed.
The Australian reached Tuesday’s final after Hubert Hurkacz retired with De Minaur leading 6-4, 3-2.
His route has also required survival.
De Minaur defeated Mariano Navone 7-6(4), 6-2 before recovering from match danger against Quentin Halys to win 3-6, 7-6(5), 7-5. He then came back from a disastrous opening set to beat Andrey Rublev 1-6, 6-2, 6-3.
TSE tracked the beginning of that run in our China Open Round of 32 analysis, where De Minaur survived nine of 10 break points against Navone.
That ability to make opponents play one more ball has defined much of the Australian’s career.
Against a 39-year-old Djokovic who has already accumulated several physically demanding matches, it becomes the obvious tactical pressure point.
What Is the Djokovic vs De Minaur Head-to-Head?
Djokovic leads the career series 3-1.
Their most recent meeting came at Wimbledon in 2025.
Continue the China Open Story
De Minaur blasted through the opening set 6-1 before Djokovic recovered to win the next three sets 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.
The ATP’s report from that match showed how close De Minaur came to forcing the contest deeper before Djokovic took control.
The surface makes Tuesday more interesting.
The overall series favors Djokovic, but their hard-court history is more balanced than the 3-1 total suggests.
De Minaur has already demonstrated in Beijing that he can survive matches that appear to be moving away from him.
What Would a Seventh China Open Title Mean for Djokovic?
Several things at once.
First, his Beijing record would become 34-0.
Second, he would collect a seventh China Open title, extending a tournament record he already owns.
Third, it would be his first ATP singles title of 2026.
Fourth, it would become the 102nd tour-level singles title of his career.
The number itself is less interesting than the route.
Djokovic entered Beijing after months of questions about health, recovery and whether the sport’s younger elite had finally pushed him too far toward the margins.
He has answered Zverev.
He has answered Medvedev.
Now De Minaur stands between him and another trophy in the city that still has not watched him lose.
Why Does Djokovic’s Beijing Connection Feel Different From Other Winning Streaks?
Because of the interruption.
Most long tournament streaks are built across consecutive seasons.
Djokovic built the first 29 victories of this one between 2009 and 2015, disappeared from the event for more than a decade and returned at 39.
There was no gradual continuation.
No annual defense of the record.
No familiar rhythm.
He simply walked back onto Diamond Court in 2026 and started winning again.
That is why “33-0” does not fully explain the relationship.
Beijing represents a surviving version of Djokovic from another stage of his career.
For one more week, it has resurfaced almost intact.
China Open 2026 Djokovic vs Medvedev FAQs
Who Won the Djokovic vs Medvedev China Open Semifinal?
Novak Djokovic advanced when Daniil Medvedev retired with Djokovic leading 7-5, 5-3.
What Is Djokovic’s China Open Record?
Djokovic is now 33-0 at the China Open.
How Many China Open Titles Has Djokovic Won?
Djokovic has won six China Open men’s singles titles, in 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015.
Who Will Djokovic Play in the China Open Final?
Djokovic will face Alex de Minaur in Tuesday’s final.
How Many Break Points Did Medvedev Have Against Djokovic?
Medvedev created 18 break-point opportunities but converted only two.
How Many Break Points Did Djokovic Convert?
Djokovic converted four of 10 break-point opportunities.
How Many Total Points Did Djokovic Win?
Djokovic won 90 total points compared with Medvedev’s 76.
What Is Djokovic’s Record Against Alex de Minaur?
Djokovic leads their career head-to-head 3-1.
When Is the 2026 China Open Men’s Final?
The men’s singles final is scheduled for Tuesday, October 6, 2026.
What Is Djokovic Playing for in the Final?
Djokovic is seeking a seventh China Open championship, his first title of 2026 and the 102nd tour-level singles title of his career.
