Nadal could face top-ranked Djokovic in Sunday’s final.
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Even though Nadal played aggressively and clearly wanted to give Djokovic everything he could handle, Nole continued to get the better of the Spaniard as he converted yet another break to take a 5-2 lead. “I’ve been improving every single match and all the matches are good practice for me and especially the victories (because they) are a lot of positive energy for next year”. “It’s always a great pleasure to play on a big stage [with Nadal]”. “Hopefully, we can have many more encounters”.
Contesting his 12th straight final, the US Open champion collected his eighth title of the season and 56th championship of his career.
Said Nadal, who last won a hard- court title 21 months ago: “My position on the court was more aggressive, and that’s why I was able to beat him after a couple of defeats”.
Djokovic said he managed to stay calm and still stick with the game plan to be aggressive and to make Nadal move and “it worked very well”.
“Obviously today (Djokovic) is better than me, and that’s it. I hope to fight next year, seriously”.
In an incredible season, he has won eight titles after narrowly missing out on the calendar slam as he was beaten in the French Open final by Stan Wawrinka.
The Nadal forehand wasn’t as sharp as required at the outset.
He beat unseeded Frenchman Benoit Paire 6-2 6-4 in just over an hour at the venue to be used for the tennis events at the 2020 Olympic Games. “No, no, no. I don’t know what’s going on, seriously”, Nadal told reporters.
Earlier, life was a little trickier for Rafael Nadal as he was forced to come from a set down against America’s Jack Sock before setting up a chance for revenge in the semifinals against Fabio Fognini.
The tone for the match was set in game one as Djokovic easily won against serve.
Deadlocked at deuce in the second game of the second set, Djokovic wristed a framed forehand pass down the line.
Djokovic is looking to win the Beijing crown for the sixth time, following victories in 2009-10 and 2012-14.
A 20-shot rally erupted in the third game. Nadal took out Chinese wild card Di Wu 6-4, 6-4, while Djokovic had a much easier day at the office during a 6-1, 6-1 thrashing of Simone Bolelli. The Serbian raised his record in Beijing to 29-0, and will now look to reclaim the Shanghai title next week.
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The opening of the second set was also tense, with errors coming from both sides.
