Reuters - World No. 1 Novak Djokovic continued his recent dominance over Rafael Nadal when he beat the Spaniard in the final of the China Open to win the tournament for the sixth time on Sunday.
The Serbian showed no mercy against world No. 8 Nadal, who was hampered by a foot problem in the second set, as he cruised to a 6-2, 6-2 victory at the National Tennis Centre in the Chinese capital.
Djokovic has now beaten Nadal in seven of their last eight meetings, dating back to the 2013 China Open, and is on the verge of levelling their head-to-head record.
The pair have played each other 45 times with Nadal hanging on to a 23-22 advantage.
The Spaniard, who has struggled with his form and niggling injuries in the past year, took a medical timeout early in the second set when he hurt his right ankle but continued, despite appearing to be in discomfort.
Djokovic was already well on top by then and in complete control. He broke Nadal's opening service game and fought off two break points on his own serve in the sixth game.
He broke Nadal again and took out the first set in 41 minutes, then pulled away from his ailing opponent in the second.
Djokovic has never been beaten at the China Open, winning 29 matches in a row and six titles in total.
The 28-year-old has now 56 career titles, winning eight of them this year, including three Majors - the Australian Open, Wimbledon and US Open.
