Novak Djokovic again appeared to struggle with fitness issues as he came from behind to avoid a second-round exit to world No 104 Yunchaokete Bu at the China Open on Friday. The Serbian went 1-0 down before he was taken to a tiebreak in the second set. But Djokovic dug deep to claim the final set and cap off a resilient 4-6 7-6(7-2) 6-2 comeback victory over the Chinese wildcard, and extend his record winning streak at the China Open to 31 matches.
Djokovic had revealed in August that he had an ongoing health condition but said he had been "feeling good" ahead of this week's tournament. However, he appeared to have difficulties with his fitness at times in both of his opening matches, previously saying he "struggled a little bit to stay fresh" during his victory against Nuno Borges. "I had to play very well and serve well in the right moments," Djokovic said on Friday, following his win.
"He [Bu] was so solid and I struggled to really find holes in his game. "He was hitting his spots incredibly well with the serve and was mixing things up really well in the rallies from the back of the court, with some short slices, making me come in." Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player Bu was aggressive early, forcing Djokovic to save three break points at 3-3 in the first set, with the Serbian doing his best to hold off his opponent's advances, but ultimately sent a one-handed backhand beyond the baseline to concede a break point. Nothing could separate the pair over the next hour of play, but Djokovic found an extra gear in the second-set tiebreak to send the match to a deciding set, despite the Serbian seeming fatigued before requiring treatment on the side of the court.
From there, Djokovic surged forward, going 4-0 up before closing out the match and booking a quarter-finals clash against the winner of Alexander Zverev and Juncheng Shang's match. Elsewhere in Beijing, Daniil Medvedev set up a second-round tie against Jan-Lennard Struff after the Russian beat Pablo Carreno-Busta 6-4 6-2. Karen Khachanov defeated Alex Molcan 7-5 6-3.
Meanwhile, at the Kinoshita Group Japan Open Tennis Championships, Artur Fils beat Frances Tiafoe 6-3 7-5 to book his place in the quarter-finals. Aryna Sabalenka got her China Open campaign off to a flying start as the world No 2 claimed a dominant 6-1 6-3 victory over world No 94 Renata Zarazua in an hour and three minutes. Sabalenka showcased her power early, producing some ferocious groundstrokes to move to a 3-0 lead.
She'd break Zarazua once more to go 5-1 up before serving out the final game to love. The Belarusian kept her foot on the gas pedal into the second set, breaking Zarazua inside three games before Sabalenka closed out the match with another break. Sabalenka will now play world No 34 Nikola Bartunkova in the next round.
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