BEIJING — Novak Djokovic claimed the 102nd singles title of his career at the China Open in Beijing, where Alex de Minaur retired injured with Djokovic leading 7-6 (7-3) 0-1 in the final.
The 39-year-old Djokovic, a 24-time Grand Slam champion, led the Australian — 12 years his junior — after taking the first-set tiebreak 7-3 before De Minaur quit with an apparent left thigh problem early in the second set. It was Djokovic's second final of the year after losing January's Australian Open showpiece to Carlos Alcaraz, and it extended his China Open winning streak to 34 matches with his seventh title at the event. He beat world number two Alexander Zverev en route to the final and was a set and a break up on third seed Daniil Medvedev when the Russian was defaulted from their semi-final.
It is the 21st consecutive year Djokovic has won at least one singles title since 2006, leaving only Jimmy Connors (109) and Roger Federer (103) ahead of him on the all-time singles titles list. The run in Beijing followed Djokovic's reaction after Medvedev's default ended their semi-final, which came after Medvedev was defaulted in Beijing after a ball struck a spectator.
Earlier, Carlos Alcaraz won the Japan Open for his third title of the season, beating Czech Jiri Lehecka 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 after coming back from an early break down to successfully defend his title. The victory came in just his third tournament since injuring his wrist in April and followed his scheduled meeting with Lehecka in the Japan Open final. The 25-year-old Spaniard, who won the Australian Open in January to complete the career Grand Slam and also won February's Qatar Open, only returned to competitive tennis at August's US Open, where he reached the quarter-finals before losing in five tight sets to Ben Shelton.
"It's extra special after my injury," Alcaraz said. "It was a tough week that I didn't find my best tennis, my best level, but I did find the good solutions. I think that's what matters in the end."