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By Richard Pagliaro | Saturday, October 10, 2015

 
Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic dismissed David Ferrer, 6-2, 6-3, to raise his Beijing record to 28-0 and set up a China Open final against rival Rafael Nadal.

Photo credit: Reuters

A ruthless Novak Djokovic has rebranded the Asian swing into an authoritative knockout series.

The five-time China Open champion dropped serve for the first time in the tournament today, but remained an overwhelming presence. Despite a few patches of imperfect tennis, Djokovic retained his perfect record in Beijing.

Video: Fognini Tosses Racquet, Uncle Toni Nonplussed

The top-seeded Djokovic dismissed David Ferrer, 6-2, 6-3, to raise his China Open record to 28-0 and breeze into the Beijing final against rival Rafael Nadal.

The current and former world No. 1 players squared off in a Bangkok exhibition earlier this month. They'll meet for the 45th time in tomorrow's final.

"I always expect a battle with him," said Djokovic of Nadal. "I always prepare myself for the battle, no question about it. He's the player I played the most against in my life. There are no secrets."

The final is a rematch of the 2013 Beijing title match, which Djokovic won 6-3, 6-4. Since his loss to the Spaniard in the 2013 US Open final, Djokovic has not lost a set to Nadal in their last three hard-court championship clashes.

"I know he's going to try his best tomorrow to win his title, and I will do, too," Djokovic said. "I think we are both on a very high level; we know how to play these big matches. I'm sure we're going to go out and play some good tennis for the crowd. The better player will win." 

The third-seeded Nadal defeated nemesis Fabio Fognini, 7-5, 6-3, in today's first semifinal, avenging his five-set US Open loss to the theatrical Italian, who had won three of their four meetings this season.

Nadal scored the fifth break to snatch the opening set. Trying to assert more aggressive court positioning than he had in New York, Nadal earned another break for a 4-2 second-set lead. Nadal, who served 80 percent in the second set, closed the match in one hour, 45 minutes.

"He's a great player, a great and talented player," Nadal said of Fognini. "It was a tough first set, as I expected. Tough match in general. But I think I played well. I played much closer to the baseline than the previous days. That's very important for me, very important for my game. The position for me on the court today was more aggressive, and that's why I was able to beat him today after a couple of defeats."


 

Here's a happy chappy - @rafaelnadal after beating #fognini to reach the final in China #chinaopen

A photo posted by China Open (@chinaopentennis) on


It is Nadal's first hard-court final since he lost to Djokovic in the 2014 Miami final. Nadal leads the head-to-head series 23-21, but Djokovic has won six of their last seven encounters, including both of their matches this season. The world No. 1 swept Nadal, 6-3, 6-3, in the Monte-Carlo semifinals before ending the nine-time Roland Garros champion's reign in Paris with a 7-5, 6-3, 6-1 thrashing.

Djokovic defused imposing serve John Isner in Friday's quarterfinals and dismantled one of the game's best returners today.

Fresh off his fourth title of the season at the Malaysian Open last week, Ferrer had not dropped a set en route to his seventh semifinal of 2015. Djokovic put the 33-year-old Spaniard under pressure from the outset forcing Ferrer to fight in nearly every service game.

In the third game, Ferrer erased a break point with an ace out wide. Djokovic continued to hammer away at his returns, drawing a netted forehand to break for 2-1. Punishing returns with depth, Djokovic won 15 of 23 points played on Ferrer's second serve and forced his opponent to take more risk on that shot. A double fault gave Djokovic a second break and 4-1 advantage.

A sloppy game from Djokovic saw him donate the break back. It was the first time in the tournament Djokovic dropped serve. Shrugging that lapse off, Djokovic ripped timely returns, breaking back at 15 for a 5-2 lead after just 26 minutes of play.

A crackling 32-shot rally—one of the most electric exchanges of the tournament—saw a scrambling Ferrer repeatedly extend the point until Djokovic tapped out a winner and hurled a fist in the air in the second game of the second set. Those demanding physical skirmishes took a toll on the Spaniard as did Djokovic's baseline strikes. Djokovic broke for a 2-1 lead and quickly backed up the break for 3-1.

Ferrer is typically a sniper squeezing off his best weapon—the inside-out forehand—into sharp angles. Djokovic diminished the impact of that shot, taking his two-handed backhand early and driving it into the corners. Once he opened the court, the US Open champion often stepped in and slashed his forehand to Ferrer's weaker backhand wing. That pattern produced another break and a 5-2 advantage.

Djokovic's only real mis-step came when he served for the final. Trying to end on a bang, he hit his first double fault on his first match point, bungled a routine volley and clanked a second double fault off the tape to hand Ferrer break point. Sailing an inside-out forehand wide, Djokovic dropped serve for the second time in the tournament as Ferrer crept to 3-5.

It was a minor speed bump, as Djokovic broke right back to surge into his sixth Beijing final.


 

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