Six-time champion Novak Djokovic maintained his unbeaten record at the China Open, defeating Nuno Borges in straight sets on Wednesday. Despite visibly struggling in the long exchanges with Borges, Djokovic clinched a 6-3, 7-6(2) win over the Portuguese in an hour and 51 minutes. It was the 24-time Grand Slam champion's first appearance at the event since winning the ATP 500 event in 2015.
Djokovic, who revealed in August that he has been dealing with an underlying health condition that has caused particular problems in hot and humid conditions over the past couple of years, was far from his best against Borges. The Serbian struggled physically during the second set, using his racquet to stretch his back between games before taking a medical timeout to receive treatment on his right shoulder.
"In the second set he started playing better and I struggled a little bit physically to stay fresh," Djokovic said in his on-court interview. "When I was serving, I was dominating and going through my games quite comfortably. It was helping getting those first serves in, that high percentages makes my life easier in my service games and I played a great tie-break to close it out in two, so I am very happy about that."
The 39-year-old will take on local hope Bu Yunchaokete next.
The Serbian captured a record six titles at the hard-court tournament in 2009 to 2010 and 2012 to 2015. With his opening round win, Djokovic improved his record at the event to a perfect 30-0.
(Inputs from Reuters and ATP)