Alex de Minaur retired injured from the China Open final in Beijing on Tuesday 6 October, handing Novak Djokovic a record-extending seventh title at the event. The Australian felt something in his adductor late in the first set and plans to have scans in Shanghai before the Masters 1000 event there.
Djokovic took the opening set 7-6(3) and de Minaur held serve in the first game of the second set before he was unable to continue, the ATP reported. Both players received medical treatment after a first set that lasted 67 minutes, with de Minaur leaving the court for an off-court medical timeout, 7NEWS reported. The Australian returned with his left thigh heavily strapped.
What de Minaur said about the injury
“I was feeling quite good, then I felt something midway end of the first set,” de Minaur said, as quoted by the ATP. “It gradually got a little worse. [I] felt something in the adductor. I don’t know what it is yet. I’ve got to get some more scans.”
“My plan is to go to Shanghai and get scans,” he added.
“I don’t feel great,” the world No. 9 said during the trophy ceremony, according to Fox Sports. Apologising to the crowd, he added: “I didn’t want to finish like this, so really, really sorry.”
Djokovic moves within one of Federer
The title was Djokovic’s 102nd at tour level, one behind Roger Federer’s 103 for second in the Open Era, with Jimmy Connors on 109, the ATP said. The 39-year-old is now 34-0 at the China Open and is the first man in the Open Era to win a tour-level title in 21 consecutive seasons.
“It’s a bit of a strange feeling, to be honest,” Djokovic told ATP Media, adding that with de Minaur retiring early in the second set, “it doesn’t feel right to jump around and be joyful.”
Shanghai and the race to Turin
The Shanghai Masters runs from Wednesday 7 October to Sunday 18 October, Tennis365 reported. As a seed, de Minaur has a first-round bye and is due to meet Federico Cina or Alex Molcan in his opening match, which Tennishead said could fall on Friday or Saturday.
De Minaur is 40-19 in 2026 and won his 11th tour-level title in Rotterdam in February, according to the ATP. He sits 10th in the Live Race To Turin, 140 points behind Djokovic, as he chases a third straight ATP Finals appearance. With Jannik Sinner ending his season because of a knee injury, Fox Sports noted de Minaur is “now only one match out”.
His week in Beijing included a fightback from a set down against Andrey Rublev, before Hubert Hurkacz retired injured in the semi-finals to set up the final against Djokovic.
“Everything except for the end was really positive,” de Minaur said of his week, adding: “[There’s] a lot of confidence from this first week.” No results from his scans had been made public at the time of writing.
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