TERRIFYING!

Djokovic has simply never lost a single match in Beijing in six appearances.

Hard to do better than what the Serb has achieved in this tournament. The conditions have always been excellent for his game and it’s a swing he particularly enjoys. I’m going to play a bit of devil’s advocate and say that he hasn’t come back to this tournament for 11 years. So obviously, a lot of things have changed and he’s now on a downward slope in his career. Seeing him win the title this year would be almost more impressive than having won six of them. And I have to say that, apart from his record, there isn’t much in favor of Djokovic this season.

Thirteen of his fourteen wins this season have come at Grand Slams, and you can’t really say he was dominant even then. It’s getting harder and harder for the Serb, who is now struggling against a lot of players, given that his body is less and less reliable, even in the early rounds of smaller tournaments after weeks without playing. That’s a real concern in this match. If the match were to last with good intensity, he could fade again as it goes on.

A prestige match awaits Borges, and fortunately the Portuguese has already faced Djokovic last year, because he’s exactly the kind of player who can feel the pressure and be intimidated by the name on the other side of the net. We saw quite recently that a player like Tirantez could panic against Djokovic before realizing that, actually, it was doable and going on to win. I think Borges has a bit more experience, but he’s not the best at managing his emotions either. For me, a lot will depend on that, because otherwise I think a good Borges can really bother Djokovic. The Portuguese likes profiles like the Serb’s, where he has to work from the baseline and has time on the ball. I remember their match in Athens last year in ultra-fast conditions, where it was just a bit too quick for the Portuguese, who really struggled to have any impact on return. That should be less of an issue this year, especially since it’s a night session this time!