Novak Djokovic lifted a trophy again at the age of 39. The Serbian won the ATP in Beijing this Tuesday, the 102nd title of his career, after the Australian Alex de Minaur left the final at the beginning of the second set due to a muscle injury.
Djokovic, world number 11 and winner of 24 Grand Slam titles, won the first set 7-6 (7/3). De Minaur, number 9 in the ATP ranking, managed to maintain his serve at the beginning of the second set, but immediately afterwards he announced that he could not continue.
The Australian had received medical attention for discomfort in his left thigh and returned to the track with a bandage. His movements were clearly limited and, after playing the first game of the second set, he decided to retire.
In this way, Djokovic won the Beijing tournament for the seventh time, where he maintains a perfect record of 34 wins and no losses.
The victory also allows the Serbian to get closer to two tennis legends. Djokovic has 102 ATP titles and is seven away from equaling Jimmy Connors’ record, who has 109. In addition, he is only one away from reaching Roger Federer’s 103 trophies.
“I always want to visualize myself with the trophy, especially here in Beijing, but I was also very aware that the reality is a little different these days,” Djokovic explained after the final.
Djokovic once again beats players in the Top 10
The Serbian’s path to the title was especially demanding. In the round of 16 he was close to elimination against the Chinese Bu Yunchaokete, world number 104, before coming back to win 4-6, 7-6 (7/2) and 6-2.
In the quarterfinals he defeated the German Alexander Zverev, number 2 in the ATP ranking, while in the semifinals he advanced after the disqualification of the Russian Daniil Medvedev, number 5, who threw a ball into the stands and inadvertently hit a spectator.
Djokovic had not managed to defeat three Top 10 players in a row since 2023.
The title in Beijing also comes after a season marked by physical problems that limited his participation since Wimbledon. At 39, Djokovic became the oldest player to win a main tour tournament since Australian Ken Rosewall, champion in Hong Kong in 1977 at the age of 43.
