Djokovic claims fifth Beijing title

BEIJING - World No. 1 Novak Djokovic defended his China Open crown after crushing the Czech Republic's Tomas Berdych 6-0, 6-2 in the title match on Sunday.

Serbia's best tennis player claimed his fifth Beijing title in a little over one hour leaving Berdych no chance to bounce back.

Berdych has suffered one of the toughest losses of his career, and Djokovic improved his head-to-head record against the Czech to 16-2.
"It was probably the best performance in a final I ever had," said Djokovic, noting that Beijing is obviously lucky for him.

I enjoy the support and the hospitality I feel in this city. It gives me energy to achieve such good results, he said.

After the win, Djokovic greeted in Chinese the enthusiastic spectators at the capital of China, where he enjoys great popularity.

The Serbian player first competed in Beijing in 2009 and won the title every year since, with the exception of 2011 when he withdrew due to injury.

AP Photo/Vincent Thian