Djokovic plays in Beijing today, first time in 11 years — is his body actually holding up?
Novak Djokovic, 39, is back on court today against Nuno Borges at the China Open — his first time playing Beijing since 2015, where he is 29-0 all time with six titles. He dropped to No. 11 in the world after that first-round US Open loss to Mariano Navone, his first opening-round Slam defeat since 2006, and he was vomiting and cramping on court in New York. He skipped the Laver Cup to play here, and the draw has Zverev, Auger-Aliassime and Medvedev waiting. Genuine question for tennis people: is a deep run realistic, or was the US Open the sign that the body is done? Trying to decide whether to fire up Tennis TV for the 7pm Beijing-time start.
1 answer
- Watch today, but expect a quarterfinal ceiling.
Beijing is an ATP 500, not a Slam. Borges is a warmup match, not a measuring stick. The measuring stick is Zverev or Medvedev later in the week, and at 39 with the US Open body breakdown, back-to-back hard-court wars are the thing he cannot do anymore. If he wins today in straights, he is fine. If Borges takes him to three, the farewell-tour talk is real. Short version: stay up, enjoy it, do not bet on the title.