By Chris Oddo | Sunday, October 5, 2014
Novak Djokovic swept past Tomas Berdych in Beijing to claim his 5th consecutive title in the Chinese capital.
Photo Source: Getty
Novak Djokovic didn’t get the double-bagel but he got the victory.
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The world No. 1 came one point from notching a 6-0, 6-0 victory against a shellshocked Tomas Berdych, but ended up settling for a cozy 6-0, 6-2 triumph over the Czech for his 5th consecutive China Open title.
"This has been, in the circumstances, probably the best performance of any final in my career. It was incredible,” said Djokovic of his effort. "I have played some great finals, had some convincing wins, some straight-set wins against top rivals. But with this kind of performance and with this domination result-wise, I mean it's never happened."
Berdych, who had held serve in 35 of his first 36 service games in Beijing, had his hot streak rudely interrupted in the first game of the final when Djokovic broke to take a 1-0 lead. Berdych’s woes continued—and snowballed—as he dropped his next four service games and found himself behind 6-0, 5-0 and facing match point in less than an hour.
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The world No. 6 would muster a late rally, saving three match points and claiming two consecutive games before finally bowing out, but even after gaining a sense of respectability at the conclusion of the match, Berdych remained blown away by the drubbing.
"I met somebody in the final who I've never seen before,” Berdych said. “The way that he performed today was really outstanding. There is really not much I can add to that because, really, I was just swept off the court. I just said to my coach now that I probably played over 700 matches in my career, and I met guys like Andre, Roger, all those probably in their best times. But I have never, ever experienced anything like that."
Djokovic improves his winning streak in China to 25 matches. He has claimed the last two Shanghai titles to go with his five consecutive Beijing titles. The Serb now leads the ATP in titles with five in 2014, and he crawls to within three of Boris Becker’s 49 all-time titles by claiming his 46th.
Notes, Numbers
Djokovic’s 8 titles in China are as much as he has won in any other country. He also has 8 titles in the U.S.
Djokovic’s head-to-head record of 16-2 against Berdych includes a perfect 14-0 record against the Czech on hard courts.