ATP Tour

Borges on Djokovic’s perfect 29-0 Beijing record: ‘More pressure for him’

A faint smile spreads across Nuno Borges’ face as he takes a seat in the media centre at the China Open in Beijing. The draw had been made barely an hour earlier, so there is one obvious place to start.

“Have you seen the draw, Nuno?”

“Haha, yep. Let’s see how it goes.”

Borges had spent his Monday morning on the practice court preparing for his debut at the ATP 500 event. Not long after, the 29-year-old discovered the identity of his first-round opponent: Novak Djokovic.

Not exactly the gentlest of welcomes to Beijing.

Djokovic is a six-time champion in the Chinese capital and, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index, has never lost a match at the tournament. His record? A perfect 29-0.

Borges laughs when he hears the number.

“That’s crazy,” the Portuguese star said. “Maybe even more pressure for him. I remember him indoors and on hard courts in general. I think he’s been very, very solid, with a crazy winning record. In some way it doesn’t surprise me, but it’s still an incredible stat.”

Borges at least knows what it feels like to stand across the net from Djokovic. The World No. 49 faced the Serbian for the first and only time last November in Athens, where the former No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings earned a 7-6(4), 6-4 quarter-final victory en route to his 101st tour-level title.

Borges had watched Djokovic countless times before that encounter. Experiencing the Serbian’s game from the other side of the net, however, offered a different perspective on what has made the 24-time major champion such a difficult opponent.

“I've watched him so much over the years and it was a great experience to play him last year in Athens,” Borges said on his first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting with Djokovic. “I remember in that match he was more just pushing me like crazy off the court than hitting a lot of winners. I think he controls the ball really well. He controls the tempo and the momentum of the match. He's very precise with his serves and really smart.

“It looks like he's not there, and then he reaches a little, stretches a little more, and all of a sudden he places a really deep ball back onto the court. I think his movement is something I admire a lot.”

Yet Borges also took encouragement from that first encounter. The 29-year-old carved out two break points at 4-4 in the opening set before Djokovic eventually prevailed in a tie-break, and he remained competitive throughout the second.

Those moments have given Borges something to draw upon ahead of their Beijing reunion.

“I had a good match against him and had some break points late in the first set, if I'm not mistaken,” Borges said. “I was right there. I don't see why I can't push a little bit more. “I know it's a very big challenge. He'll make me play very well from the start. There's no pressure for me. I'll try to enjoy it as much as I can.”

There is another element to facing Djokovic that goes beyond forehands, backhands and serves. The Serbian arrives in Beijing following a first-round defeat at the US Open, but Borges does not believe a handful of losses can quickly diminish the presence built over a career at the top of the sport.

“You still feel that aura,” Borges said when asked about Djokovic’s recent defeat in New York to Mariano Navone. “He's still representing himself very well, so I don't think he's losing that. For me, that aura is a little bit like the pressure you feel when he walks across the room or enters the locker room. I think it's something you get used to as a player. In the end, you're going to be facing him. You're going to play on the same court as him.”

Familiarity has helped. Borges also practised with Djokovic at Roland Garros earlier this season, another experience that made sharing the stage with one of the sport's most accomplished players feel a little more normal.

“It was a great experience for me, and it also makes me feel a little bit more at ease knowing that he's still human,” Borges said. “It's not like I'm on his standing, but in some way I need to get used to the feeling of being around these kinds of people.”

Borges has increasingly found himself in those surroundings. At Wimbledon this year, Borges faced World No. 1 Jannik Sinner on Centre Court and pushed the Italian to two tie-breaks. Although Borges left without a set, he departed with another valuable reference point for what it takes to compete against the very best on one of the sport's biggest stages.

“Those tend to be very good learning experiences because you'll probably, or almost certainly, play in a big stadium full of people,” Borges said. “That's not an everyday experience for me. That takes adjustment. Being able to play my best in those environments is a totally different challenge. Plus, the player I'm facing, that's also another big challenge.

“Against Sinner, I was really happy with the way I played. Obviously, the score didn't go my way at all, but I felt like I was in it and I had my chances. If he dipped a little bit more, maybe I could have taken a set or two.”

Now comes another big stage, another imposing opponent and another opportunity for Borges to test himself. And as he prepares to face a man who has never lost in Beijing, the Portuguese is happy to remind himself where the expectations lie.

“The pressure is on him, and I'll say that as many times as I can!” Borges said with a smile. “I'll use that in my favour as much as I can because, in the end, I want to play a good match, and I think that will help me do it. But it's not easy to play in front of a big crowd. I also don't want to disappoint myself. I can be quite hard on myself, and quite unfair, so I try to manage that. Hopefully I can play well and give myself a good shot.”