Battling Djokovic stuns top seed Zverev at China Open
- Last updated: October 5, 2026 | 10:54
Novak Djokovic rolled back the years to oust Alexander Zverev from the China Open on Sunday, beating the top seed 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 to set up a blockbuster semi-final with Daniil Medvedev.
The 39-year-old Serbian electrified a packed crowd in Beijing, where he extended an astonishing winning streak to 32 matches and is a firm fan favourite.
Djokovic called it one of his best matches of the year, alongside his epic five-set win over Italy's Jannik Sinner to reach the final at the Australian Open.
He told reporters such battles were "evidence to me that I can still beat the best players in the world on the biggest stage".
"Things are a bit different nowadays. It's hard to be consistently playing on the highest level like the youngsters," he said.
He needed to play a mix of shots in "high-risk tennis" against the German, but he said feeling "physically pretty good" on the court after dealing all year with health issues helped him fight back.
Djokovic got off to a poor start, double-faulting twice in the first game to help Zverev, a decade his junior, break serve instantly.
Boos filled the stadium soon afterward when the umpire agreed to replay a point Djokovic had won, after Zverev complained about a flicker in the LED panels during play.
The German saw out the first set from there, but a valiant Djokovic roared back to seal the second with a cross-court winner to break serve and force a decider.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion faced 19 Zverev aces throughout the match but held steady on his own serve to go 5-4 ahead in the final set.
He then broke the world number two to take the set and the match, seemingly defying his recent physical difficulties with victory in a gruelling two hours and 34 minutes.
Djokovic will face Medvedev in the final four after the former world number one dispatched Francisco Cerundolo 7-6 (7/4), 6-3.
Poland's Hubert Hurkacz also advanced to the semi-finals after beating Karen Khachanov, and will play Australia's Alex de Minaur, who survived a gruelling test to beat Andrey Rublev 1-6, 6-2, 6-3.
Agence France-Presse