Novak Djokovic’s performances at the China Open have been one of the stories of the season as the 39-year-old has fought through a very difficult draw to reach the final.
Djokovic arrived in Beijing with a 100% record, having won the tournament every time he’s played, but he was not in the best of form after the North American hardcourt swing.
The Serbian lost in the first round of the Cincinnati Open and the US Open and a mysterious health issue looked to be derailing his matches.
Nevertheless, after a couple of difficult matches against Nuno Borges and Yunchaokete Bu, Djokovic find his groove once again at the Beijing event.
He’s picked up victories against Alexander Zverev and Daniil Medvedev to set up a final against Alex de Minaur – and he’s impressed many of the players on the ATP and WTA Tour.
Speaking after her latest China Open victory, Mirra Andreeva joined the long list of players floored by the 39-year-old’s level at the tournament.
More Novak Djokovic news
“I think what he’s doing is unbelievable. He’s achieved, like, I don’t know, he won everything that there is possible to win,” said Andreeva in her post-match press conference after beating Daria Snigur.
“He still finds the motivation to play these tournaments, fight and win and beat so many great players. I think, of course, it’s a big inspiration for a lot of different players to see that even with such a legend that won everything, he still likes to play, he still enjoys, he still fights.
“He’s fighting for I don’t know what is his motivation. Maybe he just likes to play tennis and likes to win. For sure he’s a huge inspiration personally for me.”
Andreeva is not the only player at the China Open to express their delight at Djokovic’s run to the final. Coco Gauff was similarly impressed by Djokovic’s exploits in Beijing.
I mean, it’s an alien honestly. I was watching the match. I mean, even from Daniil, it was just like there is no unforced errors to win these points. It was the same level, two hours and whatever, 30 minutes for two sets, which is insane,” said Gauff.
“It was an unfortunate ending,but I’m glad it got finished in two sets, otherwise we would be here much later. Novak is an alien. I don’t know how he does it honestly at this age. So good, I don’t know.”
Likewise, de Minaur, who will play Djokovic in the China Open final, said: It’s been a long time since I’ve been surprised by what Novak can bring to the court, right?
“We as tennis players have seen what he’s been able to do for basically his whole career. It is amazing to watch. Yesterday was just another one of those matches where he played at an extremely high level.
“It was great to watch as a fan of the sport. I enjoyed it thoroughly. Ultimately that’s what tennis wants, right? We want everyone at their best.”
