Djokovic makes it 30-0 in Beijing as Khachanov ousts Auger-Aliassime

Eleven years away did nothing to break the spell. Novak Djokovic returned to the China Open on Wednesday and beat Nuno Borges 6-3, 7-6(2), taking his record in Beijing to a remarkable 30 wins and no defeats. The opening day of the ATP 500 event also produced a major upset: second seed Félix Auger-Aliassime was beaten 6-3, 6-3 by Karen Khachanov.

A grind, not a stroll

The 39-year-old Serbian, seeded sixth, did not have it easy. According to AFP, Djokovic used his racket to stretch his back during the match and needed a trainer to look at his right shoulder. He still found a way through in one hour and 51 minutes, hitting eight aces and saving both break points he faced, both of which came in the opening set.

The second set went to a tiebreak, where Djokovic pulled away and sealed it when Borges netted a return. The win was his first at any event since Wimbledon in July, where he lost in the semi-finals to Jannik Sinner.

"It's a great pleasure to be back in my happy place," Djokovic said afterwards. "Thankfully I kept the streak going and hopefully I can do it again."

The six-time Beijing champion is playing the tournament for the first time since 2015. His next opponent is Chinese wildcard Bu Yunchaokete, who beat Juan Manuel Cerúndolo 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 in two hours and 19 minutes. The pair have never met on the main tour, and Bu will have a home crowd behind him.

Khachanov does it again

The draw had billed Auger-Aliassime against Khachanov as a revenge match for the Canadian. The Russian beat him in the second round of the US Open last month and went on to reach the semi-finals in New York. Revenge never came. Khachanov, ranked No. 26, needed just 72 minutes to win again and knock the second seed out at the first hurdle.

Wildcard Zheng becomes first Chinese champion in Beijing, beats Andreeva

That loss leaves the bottom half of the draw open. With Sinner, the defending champion, absent because of his ongoing right knee injury, Beijing was already short one title favourite. Losing the No. 2 seed on day one makes the field even more open.

Zverev begins on Thursday

Top seed Alexander Zverev starts his campaign on Thursday against Cameron Norrie. The German arrives as US Open champion after beating Ben Shelton in the New York final in September, and he has won all eight of his previous tour-level meetings with Norrie. The draw puts Zverev and Djokovic on course to meet in the quarter-finals. Djokovic leads their head-to-head 9-5.

Elsewhere on Wednesday, Jan-Lennard Struff beat Thiago Agustín Tirante 6-1, 6-4, and French qualifier Arthur Géa defeated Chinese wildcard Zhang Zhizhen 6-4, 6-3. The Beijing singles final is set for Tuesday, 6 October. The winner gets 500 ranking points and $764,750.