Novak Djokovic defeated Yunchaokete Bu in the second round of the China Open.
However, the Serb didn’t exactly breeze past the man ranked 93 places below him. Djokovic lost the opening set and required medical treatment as the Chinese star threatened to cause an upset.
Eventually, Djokovic fought back to beat Bu, 4-6, 7-6, 6-2, potentially setting up a quarter-final tie with the world number two Alexander Zverev. After the match, Djokovic shared a fitness update.
Novak Djokovic confirms this year has been a ‘big, big struggle’ physically
“I don’t want to go into details because then it’s going to sound like I’m whining about something or looking for excuses. The truth is that this year has been a big, big struggle for me with a few particular issues that I’ve been having,” said Djokovic during his post-match press conference.
“I’ve been just trying to find different ways to be at least giving myself a decent condition physically and health-wise to be on the court and compete with the player across the net. If the player beats me, if he’s better, great.
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“Most of the matches and tournaments this year that I’ve played have been a real, real struggle for me physically. That’s nothing to do with stamina. People mix it up. It’s not stamina. It’s something else. More related to health.
“I don’t want to be revealing what it is, but I’m trying to get to the bottom of it with my team. Sometimes it works better, sometimes it doesn’t. Today, again, for the first couple sets… Actually, surprisingly, something I haven’t experienced this year so far, that in the third set, I kind of broke through. I felt better. Towards the end of the second and all of the third set, I felt fresher than I did at the beginning of the match.”
Djokovic didn’t want to give anything away about his health issues, but said as much as he could. The Serb admitted he wasn’t having ‘fun’ on court because of the physical problems.
“Yeah, I’m just hopeful that, with all the things obviously that we’re doing that I could be in a controlled, decent condition for the next match and upcoming matches and tournaments. That’s all I can say,” said Djokovic.
“Of course, it’s not fun when you’re feeling like that on the court because then I’m investing my emotional, mental energy, and physical of course, more in the issues that I’m having rather than thinking about the game and how I can beat my opponent. The third set today was really enjoyable from that perspective. Finally, I got to play tennis without really thinking about all the other things happening.”
Djokovic will need to be at his physical best to have any chance of beating Zverev in the quarter-finals. The German will first play Juncheng Shang in the second round.
Novak Djokovic says he will play the ATP Finals in Turin if he qualifies
The 39-year-old was also asked whether he would play Shanghai after Beijing, as the Serb shared his plans for the remainder of the 2026 season.
“I don’t have that super clear right now. At the moment, I’m also not really qualified yet for the race, for Turin. I mean, this year I would like to play if I qualify. I’m planning also to play Paris, Bercy. Shanghai, I still don’t know. I need to see how I feel here, and then I’ll decide,” said Djokovic.
Djokovic won a record-breaking seventh ATP Finals title in 2023, but chose not to return in 2024 or 2025 despite qualifying. However, he does intend to play in 2026 if he qualifies.
Live ATP Race to Turin
| Rank | Player | Country | Points | Status |
| 1 | Alexander Zverev | Germany | 8,700 | Qualified |
| 2 | Jannik Sinner | Italy | 7,950 | Qualified |
| 3 | Ben Shelton | USA | 4,430 | Currently qualifying |
| 4 | Carlos Alcaraz | Spain | 4,100 | Qualified |
| 5 | Flavio Cobolli | Italy | 3,530 | Currently qualifying |
| 6 | Frances Tiafoe | USA | 3,330 | Currently qualifying |
| 7 | Arthur Fils | France | 3,275 | Currently qualifying |
| 8 | Daniil Medvedev | Russia | 3,060 | Currently qualifying |
| 9 | Rafael Jodar | Spain | 2,509 | Not currently qualifying |
| 10 | Taylor Fritz | USA | 2,480 | Not currently qualifying |
| 11 | Novak Djokovic | Serbia | 2,430 | Not currently qualifying |
| 12 | Alex de Minaur | Australia | 2,400 | Not currently qualifying |
| 13 | Jakub Mensik | Czechia | 2,395 | Not currently qualifying |
| 14 | Tommy Paul | USA | 2,385 | Not currently qualifying |
| 15 | Felix Auger-Aliassime | Canada | 2,365 | Not currently qualifying |
| 16 | Brandon Nakashima | USA | 2,275 | Not currently qualifying |
He currently sits 11th in the ‘Live ATP Race to Turin’, 630 points behind Daniil Medvedev who occupies the final qualification spot. If Djokovic wins the China Open, that gap could close dramatically, to 230 points.
Only time will tell if Djokovic can qualify for the ATP Finals, but it’ll certainly be something to keep an eye on over the coming weeks and months. The 2026 ATP Finals begin on Sunday, November 15.
