Tennis essentials for 4 October: Djokovic comes back to beat Zverev, Fils falls in Tokyo

In Beijing, the quarter-final between Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev lived up to its billing. In Tokyo, Arthur Fils let a match he led twice slip away; in Manacor, Rafael Nadal played tennis again. The day on tour, story by story.

Djokovic comes back on Zverev, Medvedev waits

A set down, Novak Djokovic wore down the world No 2: 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, after more than two and a half hours, on a second match point (the first had gone after a 27-shot rally). At 39, he becomes the third player in the ATP ranking era, after Ken Rosewall and Jimmy Connors, to beat a top 3 past the age of 39, and he stays unbeaten in Beijing: 32 wins from 32 matches, six titles, a first visit since 2015. As early as the second game he had fumed at a replayed point awarded to Zverev after an advertising board changed image: “one of the stupidest rule changes I have heard in my life”. Monday’s semi-final brings Daniil Medvedev, fresh from the Hangzhou title: “Novak is crazy because he is old, but he can still play very well,” the Russian smiled.

Beijing loses its top two women

Beaten on her Beijing debut by world No 118 Alina Charaeva, Elena Rybakina followed up with a withdrawal from Wuhan, still hampered by a foot injury. A day later, Aryna Sabalenka followed her out of the door: 6-4, 6-3 against Nikola Bartunkova, ranked 34th. The world’s top two have left the WTA 1000 in the first week. Sabalenka’s fall, in our report.

Arthur Fils lets his Tokyo quarter-final go

Up 5-3 in the first set and 4-2 in the third, Arthur Fils fell to Valentin Vacherot (7-5, 4-6, 6-4) in 2h22. “I had a break ahead in both, but I did not manage the ends of the sets well,” the Frenchman admitted, less reliable on his own service games when it mattered. Vacherot, ranked 18th, had already won last year’s Shanghai Masters; this was his first win over a top 10 since Monte-Carlo in April. Jiri Lehecka awaits in the semi-final.

Alcaraz through to the semis, a word for Shapovalov

In Tokyo, Carlos Alcaraz played only one set and three games: Denis Shapovalov retired (7-6 [3], 2-1 ret.), and the world No 3 wrote “Come back soon Denis” on the on-court camera. Our report looks back at a semi-final reached without spending energy.

The doubt thickens around Sinner

Withdrawn from the Shanghai Masters and absent since his Wimbledon title on 12 July, Jannik Sinner reportedly cut a training session short after forty minutes: “That’s it, we’re leaving, I can’t do it any more,” as reported by Corriere della Sera. His presence at Riyadh’s Six Kings Slam, the exhibition from 21 to 24 October, remains uncertain. And the plan that would have sent Alexander Zverev to world No 1 by winning Beijing then Shanghai fell with his defeat.

Nadal played again, 683 days on

In Manacor, for his academy’s tenth anniversary, Rafael Nadal stepped back on court for an exhibition, 683 days after his career ended. More exhibitions will follow; the coaching bench will wait. Our report.