For Alex De Minaur, the ending of Beijing Open carried a cruel echo. Two years earlier at Wimbledon, De Minaur had been due to face Novak Djokovic in a Grand Slam quarterfinal for the biggest match of his career to that point. Instead, after beating Arthur Fils in the fourth round, he felt a “loud crack” in the final three points. A scan confirmed a small tear in the fibrocartilage at the end of his adductor, and De Minaur withdrew rather than risk turning the injury into something far worse. “It’s no secret that at this stage in my career this was the biggest match of my career,” he said then.

This time, he at least made it onto the court. He stayed with Djokovic through a 68-minute opening set and nearly broke the Serbian in the fifth game, only for Djokovic to save the chance with a full-stretch backhand down the line. After the tiebreak, both players needed medical attention. De Minaur came back with his left thigh heavily bandaged, held for 1-0 in the second set and then decided he could not continue.

With that, he handed Djokovic his seventh China Open title and 102nd career crown.

The result also extended one of the strangest records in tennis. Djokovic is now 34-0 in Beijing, having won all seven of his appearances at the tournament. He had not returned to the China Open since 2015, but his unbeaten run survived another unusual campaign in which neither of his final two matches reached a normal conclusion.

In the semifinal, Daniil Medvedev was three points from defeat at 7-5, 5-3, 15-15 when he was defaulted after hitting a ball into the stands that struck a spectator. A day earlier, De Minaur had advanced when Hubert Hurkacz retired with an adductor injury while trailing 6-4, 3-2, 40-0. Djokovic therefore beat Alexander Zverev, De Minaur and Medvedev on his way to the trophy, but only one of those final two matches was completed on court.

That made the title an especially significant one for a 39-year-old who had spent much of the season managing his body. Djokovic said after the final that he had questioned whether he wanted to continue playing while dealing with the physical problems that had followed him through 2026. “Many times, I’ve questioned whether I want to keep on playing this way, feeling this way on the court, but this week has proven me wrong once again,” he said.

The contrast with his US Open exit was stark. Djokovic had been forced to fight through vomiting, cramping, back pain and shoulder trouble during his five-set first-round loss to Mariano Navone, eventually dropping the final two sets 6-2, 6-1. “My whole body starts to collapse, basically, cramping and pain,” Djokovic said afterward, adding that his back and shoulder had given up by the end. It was his first opening-round defeat at a Grand Slam since 2006.

Novak Djokovic Has Kind Words for Alex De Minaur After the Australian Retires in the Beijing Final

Djokovic’s own discomfort with the ending was clear during the trophy ceremony. Rather than treating the retirement as an uncomplicated victory, he acknowledged the Australian before celebrating his own title.

“But I just realized it was rude for me not to start with Alex and his team,” said Djokovic during his on-court victory speech. “You know, congratulations for a great week. And I’m really sorry for the way you had to finish today. And I really hope that you can recover quickly. Definitely one of the most exciting players to watch on the tour. And I wish you definitely all the best for this year and the years to come.”

De Minaur also addressed the crowd during the ceremony, apologizing for being unable to finish the final. “It was pretty amazing, as a fan of the sport, to watch the tennis you produced this week,” he told Djokovic.

For Djokovic, there was still plenty to celebrate. The Beijing title is his 102nd on the ATP Tour, leaving him one behind Roger Federer’s 103 and seven behind Jimmy Connors’ record 109. It is also his first title since Athens in November 2025 and his first of the 2026 season.

More remarkably, Djokovic has now won at least one singles title in 21 consecutive seasons. At 39, he is also the oldest ATP Tour-level singles champion since Ken Rosewall won in Hong Kong in 1977 at age 43.

“This trophy means much more than one trophy, one tournament,” Djokovic said. “This year has been quite challenging for me, lots of ups and downs and physical and health issues, so I was just trying to find a good feeling on the court.”

That feeling had been building throughout the week. Djokovic had already beaten world No. 2 Alexander Zverev before moving into the semifinal against Medvedev. His victory over De Minaur became his sixth Top-10 win of the season and, more importantly, evidence that he could still put together a deep run when his body allowed him to play on his terms.

The title also gives Djokovic a major boost in the race for the ATP Finals in Turin. With Jannik Sinner shutting down his season to recover from a knee injury, Djokovic moved into ninth place in the Live Race, just outside the eight-player qualification line before the next stage of the Asian swing. De Minaur’s runner-up finish also strengthens his own bid, although his physical condition now makes his immediate schedule uncertain.

For De Minaur, the disappointment is more complicated than simply losing a final. At Wimbledon in 2024, an adductor injury kept him from stepping onto court against Djokovic at all. In Beijing, he finally got the chance to play that match. He lasted a set, pushed Djokovic into a tiebreak and held the opening game of the second, but his body still decided when the meeting would end.