Novak Djokovic has not won a tennis match since early July at Wimbledon vs Felix in the quarterfinals. Safe to assume he is highly motivated to summon his best tennis in Beijing 500 where he arrived a week early to prepare. Today Novak practiced with Karen Khachanov.
Djokovic lost early – both first round – in Cincy and US Open to Tirante and Navone respectively. Novak arrived early to Beijing to train because he knows he has to make a statement and he has to win matches to regain his aura. Another early loss would be devastating.
Now ranked 12 in the world, Djokovic is surely feeling a sense of urgency to prove he can win matches again, he is in a fight for survival as an elite player.
No tennis expert on earth can predict when the 39 year old Djokovic will hit the wall and no longer be able to summon the level needed to consistently win ATP World Tour matches.
Many elite champions believed they could still win and exist on the ATP World Tour however their self belief was not matched by their on court performances. To name a few examples – the career ends of Michael Chang, Bjorn Borg, Thomas Muster, Andy Murray, Gaston Gaudio, Lleyton Hewitt.
Beijing may seem like an afterthought on the ATP World Tour calendar but this year’s edition is of critical importance for the 24 time Grand Slam champion.
Sam · October 3, 2026 at 1:28 am
It gets so . . . urgent. 😏
Scoop Malinowski · October 3, 2026 at 8:08 am
Beating Bu an Borges has been very important for Novak, too bad Leo Borg wasn’t next.