It’s doubles happiness! Novak Djokovic teams up with younger brother for first time at China Open
Nadal struggles against his former ballboy
Novak Djokovic opened his new partnership with younger brother Djordje in triumphant style as they won their first ever doubles match at the China Open on Tuesday.
The Djokovic brothers chest-bumped and high-fived their way to a 7-6 (7/5), 6-7 (6/8), 10-5 victory over the China-New Zealand pairing of Gong Mao-xin and Michael Venus.
It was the first time Novak Djokovic, the singles world number one, and Djordje, ranked at 1,502, have collaborated and the younger sibling did his share of the damage with some savage forehands.
Fans were out in force at Beijing’s National Tennis Centre to see the unprecedented pairing. Novak Djokovic, eight years older at 28, is a five-time singles winner at the China Open.
“The crowd got into it. It was exciting. I’m very happy for my brother, that he was able to experience such an atmosphere,” Novak Djokovic said.
“He never did that before. He never experienced such a great crowd. He never played in a big stadium. We enjoyed it very much – encouraging each other to the first win.”
Novak Djokovic earlier won his 25th successive China Open match with a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Italy’s Simone Bolelli.
Meanwhile, Rafael Nadal stuttered to victory against one of his former ball boys, broken four times by China’s 230th-ranked Wu Di, who once tossed him balls and towels in Shanghai, before winning an error-strewn match 6-4, 6-4.
Nadal, 29, was playing for the first time since his third-round defeat at the US Open, but it was a far from satisfying return as the 14-time grand slam-winner continued to grope for form.
“We don’t need to talk more about confidence, rhythm. That’s my level today, and I’m going to work hard to try to improve my level of today,” he said, after reaching the second round.
“But tomorrow is another opportunity. I played a match today that I can play better, and I think I can play better tomorrow because I’m practising well.”
Venus Williams, one of the headline names at next week’s Hong Kong Open, will have plenty of time to rest as last week’s Wuhan Open winner was knocked out by Ana Ivanovic.
