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BEIJING. — Novak Djokovic emphatically ended home hopes at the China Open yesterday, beating Zhang Ze to reach the quarter-finals with his 26th straight win at the tournament.

The world number one tennis player, unbeaten in five appearances in Beijing, had no room for sentiment for Beijing fans as he won 6-2, 6-1 in just 55 minutes on a bright, chilly day.

Wildcard Zhang, China’s number one but ranked 219th in the world, could not contend with the power and precision of Djokovic’s ground strokes as he was broken immediately and soon yielded the first set.

The result was never in doubt and Djokovic converted his first match point with a dismissive backhand volley as Zhang struggled at the back of the court.

With 26 wins and no defeats, Djokovic joins Jimmy Connors in second place on the list of unbeaten starts to a tournament, behind only Rafael Nadal’s 31 at the French Open. — AFP.