Novak Djokovic kept his Beijing record alive on Wednesday, but not without giving a scare. The 39-year-old beat Portugal’s Nuno Borges 6-3, 7-6(7-2) in his first match back at the China Open in 11 years, stretching his all-time record at the tournament to an extraordinary 30-0.

The win was difficult to come by, as during the second set, Djokovic appeared to feel a sharp stab between his back and ribs, which prompted him to take a medical timeout while trailing 3-2. The video from his changeover, where he was visibly drained and draped in a towel, breathing heavily with his eyes closed before reaching out for water – those visuals created a panic online among his fans. Speaking afterward, Djokovic was candid about how much the physical side of the match weighed on him. 

“In the second set he started playing better and I struggled a little bit physically to stay fresh,” he said. “When I was serving, I was dominating and going through my games quite comfortably. It was helping getting those first serves in, that high percentage makes my life easier in my service games, and I played a great tiebreak to close it out in two, so I am very happy about that.” 

At one point, the camera caught the Serbian communicating with his box through gestures. It appeared that he was signaling to them that his energy levels were fluctuating throughout the match, and he just needed a little burst to get over the line. 

Despite the alarm it caused, the issue did not appear to actually slow him down once play resumed. Djokovic held his final two service games of the set to love, playing some of his best tennis of the match immediately after the medical timeout, before racing through the tie-break, opening up a 4-0 lead and closing it out on his first match point when Borges found the net.

Djokovic now faces home favorite Bu Yunchaokete in the second round, who came through his own tricky three-setter, beating Juan Manuel Cerundolo 6-2, 5-7, 6-4. The path beyond that gets even harder, as the top seed Alexander Zverev will be waiting in the quarterfinals, and if he manages to surpass that test, he can face former world No. 1 Daniil Medvedev in the semifinals.

Djokovic’s lingering physical issues

The scare in Beijing is far from an isolated moment this season. At the Cincinnati Open in August, Djokovic faced an exit in the second round against Thiago Austin Tirante. He was visibly struggling in the heat and humidity and even vomiting into his towel, dropping to his knees. He called for a medical timeout while leading the second set, but he collapsed eventually. 

Then, a few weeks later at the US Open, he faced similar physical issues. Djokovic battled through a five-set match against Mariano Navone while visibly ill, cramping and vomiting – all the things he faced in Cincinnati but in a more alarming fashion. 

“Unfortunately, it’s something I’ve been dealing with in pretty much every match this year,” he admitted afterward. “Nausea, vomiting, serious issues. And then my whole body basically starts breaking down, cramps, pain. My back simply gave out in the end, as did my shoulder and knee.” 

With his perfect 30-0 record on line against a stacked draw, the question that’s hanging is not about the draw but whether his body can sustain the test that lies ahead of him.