At 39, Novak Djokovic Wins a Seventh China Open and Extends His Beijing Run to 34-0

Novak Djokovic's seventh China Open title was decided by an ending nobody wanted. In Sunday night's final in Beijing, the 39-year-old took the first set against Australia's Alex de Minaur 7-6(3); one game into the second, de Minaur — hampered by a muscle injury — retired. Djokovic collected a seventh trophy from a seventh appearance in the Chinese capital, the 102nd title of his career, and his first of the 2026 season. The ATP Tour's announcement of the result was liked more than 2,000 times within the hour, but the more lasting record had already been set: Djokovic has now won 34 straight matches in Beijing.

That streak, dating to his first appearance in 2009, is the longest unbeaten start to a single event by any player, man or woman, in the Open Era — this week it moved past Rafael Nadal's 31 straight wins at Roland Garros. He earned it against a heavyweight field: three top-ten opponents in four days, Alexander Zverev in the quarterfinals, Daniil Medvedev in the semifinals and de Minaur in the final. The title also extended a quieter record — at least one trophy in 21 consecutive seasons, a run that began in 2006, when he was 19.

The week was strange even by his standards. Both of his last two matches ended early: the semifinal against Medvedev finished with the Russian declared the loser in the closing stages, and the final with de Minaur's retirement — as did the other semifinal, in which de Minaur beat Hubert Hurkacz. "I have never had a semifinal and a final both end without being finished," Djokovic said afterward in his winner's interview, before calling the Beijing title "the brightest moment of my year."

Beijing's claim on Djokovic has long bordered on the mystical, and Chinese fans lean into it. Lang Ping, who coached China's women's volleyball team to Olympic gold, performed the pre-match coin toss on Sunday. "This is your lucky ground — you should have come back ages ago," the commentator Chen Junle wrote after the final, describing Djokovic as arriving in Beijing as if under some kind of divine protection. Djokovic returned the warmth in Chinese: "Ni hao ma? I love you, China. I love you, Beijing. Thank you!" (你好么，我爱你们中国，我爱你们北京！谢谢你们！)

The home crowd had less to celebrate. Zheng Qinwen, China's top player, ground through a third consecutive three-setter to reach the round of 16 before her own week was interrupted by crowd trouble — a familiar theme at China's big events this autumn.

Djokovic confirmed after the final that he will play this week's Shanghai Masters. He left Beijing, as he has every time since 2009, unbeaten: seven appearances, seven titles, 34 wins and no defeats — the number that will now follow him to every stop of the season.