Arabic version: دجوكوفيتش يحرز لقبه الـ102 وألكاراز يتوج في طوكيو

According to BBC News, Novak Djokovic claimed the 102nd singles title of his career after Alex de Minaur retired injured during the China Open final in Beijing. The 39-year-old Serb was leading 7-6 (7-3) 0-1 when De Minaur, 12 years younger than Djokovic, stopped with an apparent left thigh problem.

Both players took medical timeouts after a 68-minute opening set. De Minaur returned but played only one game before shaking hands. Djokovic’s victory extended his China Open winning streak to 34 matches and delivered his seventh trophy at the event, where he was playing for the first time in 11 years.

It is the 21st consecutive year in which Djokovic has won at least one singles title. Only Jimmy Connors, with 109, and Roger Federer, with 103, have won more career singles titles than the 24-time Grand Slam champion. The win, his first title in just over a year, will also move him back inside the world’s top 10.

Djokovic beat world number two Alexander Zverev en route to the final. In the semi-finals, he was a set and a break ahead of Daniil Medvedev when the Russian was defaulted. Djokovic said Beijing was a place where he had never lost and described the trophy as meaning more than “one trophy, one tournament”.

Earlier, Carlos Alcaraz defended his Japan Open title by beating Czech player Jiri Lehecka 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 in Tokyo. The Spaniard recovered from an early break down to secure his third title of the season, following victories at the Australian Open in January and the Qatar Open in February. It was only his third tournament since a wrist injury in April.

Alcaraz returned to competition at the US Open in August, reaching the quarter-finals before losing to Ben Shelton in five sets. The 25-year-old said the Tokyo title was “extra special” after his injury, adding that he found solutions despite not producing his best tennis during the week.