Djokovic Beats Zverev in Beijing, Moves to 32-0 and Breaks Nadal's Open Era Win-Streak Record

Novak Djokovic is still unbeaten in Beijing, and now he owns the record outright.

The 39-year-old Serbian beat top seed Alexander Zverev 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 on Sunday to reach the China Open semifinals, according to Tennis Now. The win took two hours and 34 minutes, per Tennis Now, or two hours and 35 minutes by LiveMint's count. Either way, it's a long one.

That makes 32 wins in a row at this tournament without a loss. Rafael Nadal previously held the record for the longest unbeaten start at a single event, winning his first 31 matches at Roland Garros from his 2005 debut against Lars Burgsmüller until he lost to Robin Söderling in the fourth round in 2009, according to India Today and Tennis Temple. Djokovic has now gone one better. He's the first man in the Open Era to win his first 32 matches at a single tournament, per Tennis Now and Tennis Temple.

A rough start, then a turnaround

Zverev broke Djokovic in the opening game and closed out the first set 6-4, according to LiveMint. From there Djokovic found his rhythm from the baseline.

Both the second and third sets were decided late. Djokovic broke Zverev at 5-4 in the second set to level the match, then broke again at 5-4 in the third to close it out, according to the Times of India. Tennis Now described Djokovic ending the match on consecutive forehand errors from Zverev.

Djokovic himself called it one of his best performances this season. "Yeah, this is probably one of the two best matches that I played this year, next to the one against Sinner in the semis of Australian Open," he said, according to Tennis Now. He credited his serve and his willingness to come forward: "I was trying to use every short ball to come in and put pressure on him, mix it up, come to the net, be aggressive. It was a high-risk tennis at times that I played, but I had to do it, otherwise it would be very difficult to win." Tennis Now reported Djokovic won 18 of 22 net approaches in the match.

This was Djokovic's return to the China Open after a decade away. He hadn't played the event since 2015, when he won the last of six previous titles there (2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015), according to India Today and the Times of India. He came into this year's tournament having gone 29-0 across those six appearances. He then needed a comeback from a set down against China's Yunchaokete Bu in the round of 16 to reach 31-0 and tie Nadal's mark, per India Today, before topping it against Zverev.

A video review dispute

LiveMint reported that the first set included a dispute over an on-court video review. With Zverev serving at 1-0, 30-15, the German asked for a review after a missed forehand, arguing an advertising board had changed during the point. The point was replayed, and Djokovic objected to the umpire afterward.

"I mean, this must be one of the most stupid changes of rules that I've heard in my life," Djokovic said, according to LiveMint. "There is no sense... if the player sees that there is a hindrance on that shot, he stops immediately." Zverev told the umpire he wasn't sure whether he could challenge and asked Djokovic directly before doing so.

What's next

Djokovic will face Daniil Medvedev in the semifinals after the Russian beat Francisco Cerundolo 7-6(4), 6-3 earlier Sunday, according to Tennis Now and India Today. It's Medvedev's seventh straight win and his 69th career Tour-level semifinal, per Tennis Now.

For Djokovic, it's his third semifinal of the season and his first since a quarterfinal win over Félix Auger-Aliassime at Wimbledon in July, according to Tennis Now. LiveMint also noted Djokovic is now the third man in PIF ATP Rankings history, which dates to 1973, to beat a top-three opponent after turning 39, joining Ken Rosewall and Jimmy Connors.

A win over Medvedev would put Djokovic in the final and within reach of a seventh China Open title, which would also be his first tournament trophy of the 2026 season, according to the Times of India.