Novak Djokovic won his seventh China Open title on 6 October after Alex de Minaur retired from the final with a groin injury, with the Serbian leading 7-6(3), 0-1 in Beijing. The victory gave Djokovic a 34-0 record at the tournament, a 102nd ATP Tour singles title and his first trophy since Athens last November.
The final ended after one hour and 23 minutes, shortly after De Minaur had taken the opening game of the second set. Djokovic had edged a close first set in a tie-break, and both players received medical time-outs following that set. De Minaur returned with strapping on his left thigh but was unable to continue.
De Minaur apologised to spectators during the trophy ceremony and said he had not wanted the match to finish that way. Djokovic said the retirement meant the conclusion did not feel like a normal occasion for celebration, although he was proud of the standard he had produced across the week.
An unfinished final, but a complete Beijing record
The retirement makes the scoreline an important part of the result: Djokovic did not need to win a completed second set to claim the title. He had nevertheless won the first-set tie-break against the world No 9 and, according to Tennis TourTalk, saved the only break point he faced while winning 18 of 20 first-serve points in the abbreviated final.
The win extended Djokovic’s unbeaten sequence in Beijing from 32 matches, the figure he held after beating Alexander Zverev in the quarter-finals, to 34. It also delivered a seventh title at the event. Tennis Now reported that Djokovic’s 34 consecutive Beijing victories set the mark for the longest unbeaten run by a player at one tournament, moving beyond Rafael Nadal’s 31-match run at Roland Garros.
Djokovic’s record in China had been paused rather than broken before this week: he had not played the China Open since 2015. He told reporters that he expected to return to Beijing, although he was not prepared to commit to playing the tournament again because he was approaching scheduling according to how he felt and recovered.
Three top-10 opponents on the route to the trophy
The Beijing title was built on a demanding closing stretch, although the latter two matches did not both reach a conventional finish. Djokovic beat top seed and world No 2 Zverev in the quarter-finals, then progressed from the semi-final when Daniil Medvedev was defaulted. In the final, De Minaur retired after the first set and one game.
That sequence means Djokovic faced three top-10 players on consecutive days, according to Tennis TourTalk. He beat Zverev on court, while the Medvedev and De Minaur matches ended before a full contest could be completed. The title therefore reflects both Djokovic’s victory over the tournament’s top seed and his capacity to advance through an event in which the final two rounds were disrupted.
Djokovic said the Beijing run was among his best weeks in recent years. He also said 2026 had involved physical and health problems, and that he had been seeking a better feeling on court. His assessment was that he could compete at the highest level when he was feeling well and striking the ball cleanly.
The title also takes Djokovic to 102 tour-level singles trophies. Tennis Now reported that this placed him one behind Roger Federer’s 103 for second place in the Open Era, with Jimmy Connors on 109. It was Djokovic’s 73rd hard-court title, two more than Federer, according to the same report.
What the Beijing win changes
For Djokovic, the immediate competitive significance is not simply another addition to a long title list. The China Open was his first tournament victory for nearly a year, ending the gap since his Athens success. It also extended his streak of winning at least one title in 21 consecutive years, as reported by the Guardian.
The result does not by itself settle Djokovic’s plans for the rest of the season. He said his schedule was no longer fixed far in advance and depended on his recovery. What Beijing does provide is recent evidence of a title-winning week, including a victory over Zverev, after a season Djokovic himself described as challenging.
De Minaur, meanwhile, left with a final appearance but without the chance to contest a full deciding phase against Djokovic. The Australian’s retirement ensured that Djokovic’s return to Beijing ended with another trophy, while preserving the undefeated record he said he would like to keep intact.