Novak Djokovic’s wish granted at China Open – ‘I like my chances’
Novak Djokovic will take on Bu Yunchaokete for a place in the quarter-finals of the China Open and he will once again play in cooler conditions, although that might also favour his opponent.
The tennis great finally returned to winning ways as he won his first match since Wimbledon after defeating Nuno Borges 6-3, 7-6 (7-2) in the opening round of the ATP 500 event.
Playing in Beijing for the first time since 2015, six-time champion Djokovic took his record at the tournament to 30-0, but it wasn’t all smooth sailing as he struggled with the heat and also required medical treatment on his hip and hernia.
But that has become a common problem for the 39-year-old as it is rare for him not to take a medical timeout as he needed treatment during all his matches during the North American swing while he has also admitted he is struggling with an unspecified health issue.
Naturally, he wants to avoid hot conditions during the day and organisers have obliged as his encounter against Chinese star Bu will be the final match of the day on Friday and the clash won’t start before 20:30 local time at the National Centre.
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When asked about playing Bu, Djokovic hinted about playing at night before conceding that his opponent won’t mind the conditions either. “Playing a Chinese player in China is definitely not fun (smiling). I’m sure it’s going to be an electric atmosphere. He’s going to have a lot of support.
“But at the same time I like my chances when I’m playing this kind of level of tennis. I like my chances really against anyone. So just hopefully physically I can be fit, I can be fresh.
“We’ll probably most likely play the night session again in a few days’ time. Let’s see. It’s a bit cooler conditions from the first days of training. The ball slows down a bit. The bounce is lower. So I think it favours players like Bu, who likes to play fast and flat, plays quite aggressively and close to the line.
“I have seen him play a little bit. Of course, I’m going to have to do my analysis.”
The winner of the Djokovic-Bu match – which will be their first meeting at top-level tennis – will take on either top seed Alexander Zverev or wildcard Shang Juncheng in the quarter-final.
