Djokovic topples Zverev in Beijing, breaks Nadal's record with 32-0

The Beijing streak goes on, and it now belongs to Novak Djokovic alone. The 39-year-old Serbian came from a set down to beat top seed Alexander Zverev 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 in Sunday's quarter-final at the China Open. The win took him to 32-0 at the event and past Rafael Nadal's Open Era record for the most consecutive wins at a single tour-level tournament.

The match lasted two hours and 35 minutes. Djokovic now meets Daniil Medvedev in Monday's semi-finals.

A slow start, then total control on serve

For most of the first set, Zverev looked the stronger player. The German served heavily all afternoon and hit 19 aces. Djokovic, meanwhile, opened the match with two double faults and gave up the first set.

"I had a terrible start. Two double faults at the beginning," Djokovic said afterwards, according to the ATP. "I kind of felt already from midway through the first set that I was starting to get a good rhythm."

That rhythm came through his own serve. Djokovic won 82 per cent of his first-serve points (53 of 65), and that kept the pressure on Zverev over the last two sets. In the end Djokovic broke the world No. 2 to close out the win.

Past Nadal, alongside Rosewall and Connors

When he walked on court, Djokovic was level with the 31-match run Nadal put together at Roland Garros. He has now moved clear. Since he first played in the Chinese capital, he has not lost a single match there. This week alone, he had to come back against Bu Yunchaokete earlier in the tournament before the record-breaking win.

The win also adds to his record in the rivalry with Zverev, which he now leads 10-5. And at 39, Djokovic is only the third man since the ATP rankings began in 1973 to beat a top-3 player after his 39th birthday. The other two are Ken Rosewall and Jimmy Connors.

For Zverev, the defeat ends a strong week in which he had beaten Shang Juncheng without fuss to reach this blockbuster. Next on the calendar is the Shanghai Masters, which starts on 7 October.

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Medvedev next, de Minaur and Hurkacz in the other semi

Medvedev, fresh off his title in Hangzhou, earned his spot in the semi-finals earlier on Sunday. He beat Francisco Cerundolo 7-6(4), 6-3. The Russian, a former world No. 1, is the next challenger to try to end a run that has not been broken in Beijing.

In the other half, Alex de Minaur lost the first set badly to Andrey Rublev and still won 1-6, 6-2, 6-3. He will face Hubert Hurkacz, who beat Karen Khachanov 7-6(2), 6-2.

Both China Open semi-finals are on Monday. If Djokovic wins the semi-final and the final, his Beijing record would reach 34-0 and he would arrive in Shanghai with yet another China Open title.