Djokovic to make China Open return after shock first-round exit in New York

[p]The 39-year-old Serb is returning ‌to the ATP 500 event in Beijing, where he boasts a perfect record and ‌a tournament-best six titles.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/djokovic-novak/AZg49Et9/"]Djokovic's[/a] ⁠most recent ‌China Open triumph came in 2015, the last ​year he competed at the tournament.[/p][p]The decision follows his [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/djokovic-n-AZg49Et9/navone-m-YoPUeL3o/?mid=hbCCx5Fj"]first-round ​loss at the US Open[/a] to unseeded Argentine [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/navone-mariano/YoPUeL3o/"]Mariano Navone[/a] in five sets.[/p][p]Djokovic, a four-time ​champion in New York, vomited midway through the match and was hampered by back and shoulder issues that affected ‌his serve late on.[/p][embed guid="cb9f6a3a-8249-4da4-a2c7-36a176133f29" url="https://x.com/tntsports/status/2100257911591092344" social-type="twitter" /][p]The defeat marked the first time Djokovic had lost in the opening round of a Grand Slam since the 2006 Australian Open.[/p][p][b]"I am excited to come back and perform in front of all of you at the National Tennis Centre - one ‌of the nicest venues we have ​in tennis,"[/b] the former world number one ‌said on social media.[/p][p]The men's draw at the China Open runs from September 30th to October 6th.[/p][p]World number one [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/sinner-jannik/6HdC3z4H/"]Jannik Sinner[/a] won ⁠the men's ⁠title last year.[/p]