Djokovic underlined his superiority in men’s tennis as he thrashed a fading Nadal for his 29th win at an event he also won in 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013 and 2014.
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“It’s incredible, and I can’t wait to come back and defend my title next year”, she said at the trophy presentation of her biggest title to date.
Nadal said he’s pleased with his performance this week, especially considering how much he’s struggled to maintain his consistency this season – his first in 11 years without a Grand Slam title.
‘When I arrived here, every match is important for me.
The world number eight took a medical timeout early in the second set when he hurt his right ankle but continued on, despite appearing to be in discomfort.
Nadal will face Fabio Fognini in the semi-finals after the Italian beat Pablo Cuevas 6-1 2-6 6-2.
On a chilly, breezy day, both players started unconvincingly, suffering two breaks of serve each in the opening games with Nadal also sending down three double-faults.
“I know today Novak is not my league, is a different level of me this year”, said Nadal. But I think I played well.
Nadal had two break points to level the first set at 3-3 but failed to convert and Djokovic made him pay by breaking again in the following game and then serving out the set with a blistering forehand victor. “So for me to be in the final is great news and tomorrow is a match to try to enjoy and try to play the way that I want to play, and we’ll see”, he told the ATP Tour website.
From there, the writing was on the wall as the sport’s best player clamped down on proceedings.
The Swiss top seed coming through 6-4, 7-6 (5) to reach his fourth final of the year.
The top-ranked Djokovic has been so dominant in Beijing, he’s only lost three sets in six years.
In other matches, fourth-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland defeated Germany’s Angelique Kerber 6-1, 6-4, and sixth-seeded Ana Ivanovic advanced with a 6-3, 7-5 win over Russia’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
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The set went to a tiebreak with Muller putting a backhand volley wide to hand Wawrinka the win on his first match point.
