TENNIS – Novak Djokovic clinched his fifth China Open title and extended his winning streak to 24 consecutive matches in Beijing with a clear 6-0 6-2 win over Tomas Berdych in just 66 minutes. He has never lost in the Chinese capital in his five appearances in this tournament. Diego Sampaolo
It’s the China Open but you can call it the Djokovic Open. Nole was simply unstoppable in the first set where he broke serve in the first game and cruised to 4-0 in just 15 minutes before closing out the first set with a bagel. In the second set 2011 China Open champion Berdych made his third double fault to drop serve. Djokovic got a double break to cruise to 4-0.
The match came alive only at 5-0 40-30 in the sixth game of the second set when Berdych got a break saving the first match point. After avoiding the double bagel Berdych held his serve in the seventh game for 2-5. Djokovic closed out on the second match point in the next game a few minutes later to lift his fifth title in five appearances in Beijing after his previous triumphs in 2009, 2010, 2012 and 2013 and the 46th title of his career. Djokovic completed a perfect week in which he never dropped a set.
Berdych was the first to congratulate with Djokovic after the one-sided match.
“I met someone in the final who I have never seen before. The way he was performing today was outstanding. There is really not much I can add to that because I was swept off the court I have never experienced anything like that in my career”, said Berdych.
Djokovic extended his lead to 16-2 in his head-to-head matches against Berdych. Surprisingly today’s final was the first match between Djokovic and Berdych.
Berdych is ranked seventh in the ATP Race to London ahead of Milos Raonic who lost the Tokyo final against Kei Nishikori. The Japanese player has made a huge step forward in his goal to become the first Asian player to reach the ATP Finals. With Wawrinka and Cilic almost qualified and Nishikori boosting his chance with his title in Tokyo, there are five players in contention for just two spots. The contenders are Berdych, Raonic, Murray, Ferrer and Dimitrov
The ATP Race to London updated after the finals in Tokyo and Beijing:
1 Nova Djokovic 8530 points
2 Roger Federer 7020 points
3 Rafael Nadal 6735 points
4 Stan Wawrinka 4795 points
5 Kei Nishikori 4255 points
6 Marin Cilic 3980 points
7 Tomas Berdych 3765 points
8 Milos Raonic 3740 points
9 Andy Murray 3565 points
10 David Ferrer 3535 points
11 Grigor Dimitrov 3405 points
12 Jo Wilfred Tsonga 2650 points
