It has been a decade since tennis icon Novak Djokovic last competed at the China Open, though the Serbian continues to hold a unique place in the tournament’s history.
Djokovic’s impressive haul of six titles remains by far and away the most of any man in the history of the event, with Rafael Nadal (two titles) the only other ATP star to have so far lifted the title more than once since the tournament relaunched in 2004.
And, the Serbian’s record not only sets him apart in Beijing, it also sees him achieve a unique feat that remains unmatched since the ATP Tour officially launched in 1990 — one that could well be unbreakable for the foreseeable future.
Djokovic’s ‘perfect’ China Open feat
Djokovic contested the ATP 500 event on six separate occasions and triumphed every single time.
The Serbian defeated Marin Cilic to lift his first title in 2009, and successfully defended his title in 2010 with a victory over David Ferrer in the final.
He skipped the tournament in 2011, though returned in 2012 and beat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the final, before defeating Nadal in the 2013 final, Tomas Berdych, and Nadal for a second time in 2015.
Djokovic has not played at the tournament since then, meaning his perfect record of 29 wins from 29 matches at the event remains intact.
And, that is in fact a record on the ATP in the last 35 years.
Since 1990, no man on the ATP Tour has won as many matches — or as many titles — at the same ATP-level event without tasting a single defeat.
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This may not be the highest-profile record that Djokovic holds, but it is undoubtedly one of the most impressive, and could be incredibly hard to threaten.
Has anyone come close to Djokovic’s record?
Since Djokovic extended the record in 2015, no one has yet come close to threatening it at any point over the past decade.
In reality, you have to go back to the 1990s to find the next two best records of any men remaining unbeaten at an ATP event.
Before Djokovic, the only man to have won 20 matches at any ATP event without losing a match was former world No 1 and 1995 French Open champion Thomas Muster.
Muster won four straight Mexican Open — when the event was still held in Mexico City — from 1993-96, holding a perfect 20-0 record at the tournament.
Outside of Muster and Djokovic, the only other man to win 3+ titles at the same tournament without losing a match was Pete Sampras, who won three Japan Open titles in Tokyo in 1993, 1994, and 1996.
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