Djokovic fights past Zverev in Beijing thriller to extend historic unbeaten run

[p]Playing ‌the ATP 500 event in Beijing ‌for the first time since 2015, the ‌six-time champion was pushed to the limit ‌by reigning French Open and US Open champion [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/zverev-alexander/dGbUhw9m/"]Zverev[/a].[/p][p]Meeting for the first time in nearly ‌16 months, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/djokovic-novak/AZg49Et9/"]Djokovic[/a] struggled to contain ⁠the German's ‌power in the early stages as Zverev claimed the ​opening set, but the Serb gradually worked his way into the ​match and refused to let his opponent pull away.[/p][embed guid="933020ed-af36-4657-924d-9191f741a2ed" url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjaHThpISKk" social-type="youtube" /][p]The turning point came late in ⁠the second set ​when Djokovic broke at 5-4 to level the match, shifting the momentum in his favour after a tightly contested battle.[/p][p]With little ‌separating the pair in the third, the Serbian struck again at 5-4 on the Zverev serve, securing the decisive break [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/djokovic-n-AZg49Et9/zverev-a-dGbUhw9m/?mid=Wpcpd4Ug"]to seal victory[/a].[/p][p]The pair had not met since Roland Garros in 2025, where Djokovic won in four sets, and Saturday's encounter again highlighted the Serb's ability to deliver ‌under pressure despite a season disrupted ​by physical issues.[/p][embed guid="7440fd73-2d56-4cdc-a094-64cc92b665a9" url="https://x.com/TennisTV/status/2106743476520161348" social-type="twitter" /][p]With the victory, Djokovic moved ‌a step closer to a seventh China Open title and an elusive first trophy of the year, while denying Zverev another opportunity to strengthen his bid ⁠for the world ⁠number one ranking.[/p]