BEIJING — Novak Djokovic marked his return to the China Open with a hard-fought victory, beating Portugal's Nuno Borges 6-3 7-6 (7-2) in Beijing to secure his first win since reaching the Wimbledon semi-finals in July and extend his remarkable unbeaten run at the tournament to 30 consecutive matches.
The 39-year-old former world number one was far from his best and struggled in the second set, using his racquet to help stretch his back between games before taking a medical timeout for treatment to his right shoulder. Djokovic, who revealed in August he has been dealing with an underlying health condition that causes particular issues in hot, humid conditions for "the past couple of years," still battled through in one hour and 50 minutes to set up a second-round meeting with Chinese wildcard Bu Yunchaokete.
It was Djokovic's first appearance at the China Open since 2015 — an 11-year absence — and his 30th straight win in Beijing. The Serb, a 24-time Grand Slam champion, won six titles at the event between 2009 and 2015 and is now bidding to win the tournament for a record-extending seventh time.
In the women's draw, Great Britain's Katie Boulter also advanced to the second round with a straight-sets victory. The 30-year-old defeated Japan's Mai Hontama 6-3 6-4 and will next face Czech seventh seed Karolina Muchova.