Winning is the easy part

Djokovic dominates China Open again - characters prove trickier

Winning the China Open was easy for Novak Djokovic at least compared to learning Chinese characters.

The Serb captured his third title in the event, defeating France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 7-6 (4), 6-2 in the final on Sunday.

Even more impressively, he has dropped just two sets in 14 undefeated matches in 2009, 2010 and 2012.

Djokovic's pleasant demeanor has made him a fan favorite in Beijing, his reception outshining even that of China's Li Na.

The world No 2 delighted the fans with a rendition of the popular horse-riding dance from South Korean pop hit Gangnam Style at the award ceremony.

He also made an attempt at writing the Chinese word de - which is the first letter of his Chinese name and requires 15 strokes on the television camera lens after the match on Sunday.

He nailed it earlier in the week, but missed a stroke after the final.

He said he'd invested a great deal of time learning to write the character, but was happy to present it as a token of respect for his fans.

"It took me a lot of time to learn how to draw that sign, so you can imagine how difficult it would be to draw the 5,000 signs that you have," Djokovic said.

"It is a very difficult language for us to learn, but for me, it's interesting because it's so complicated in a way for us, and so mysterious.

"I learned how to do that from my fans, and they told me to write that when I finish my matches. I'm aware that I didn't make it as perfect as possible.

"Hopefully somebody will not misinterpret what I drew there, but it's been a great week with my fans, and I have been doing most of these things because I wanted to make them happy, just as they made me happy throughout these years coming to China, and also this week.

"They have been so loyal and appreciative and supportive. So it was the least I could do, to learn. I will try to learn a little bit more Chinese for next week."

Djokovic will join Roger Federer and Andy Murray at the Shanghai Masters next week. He said his goal now is to regain the world No 1 spot.

"Of course that's the target," he said. "(The China Open win) will definitely help me in that race, but it's still quite open. There are still big tournaments to come. The Shanghai event will be the first 1,000 event next week. Everybody is playing there except Nadal.

"I want to try to get as far as I can in the tournament, obviously taking one match at a time as I always do."

tangzhe@chinadaily.com.cn