Novak Djokovic won his fourth China Open title in five years yesterday, prevailing 6-3 6-4 in the final against Rafael Nadal who will replace him as the men’s world number one today.

The Serb continued his love affair in Beijing, improving his tournament record to 19-0 after brushing aside Nadal to halt his run of three successive defeats against the Spaniard.

Nadal had to reach the final in the tournament to displace Djokovic from the top ranking and the issue was put to rest on Saturday when Tomas Berdych retired with a back injury in his semi-final against the Spaniard.

“I needed this win today,” Djokovic told reporters.

“I really wanted to get my hands on the trophy and win against Nadal, who has been the best player so far in 2013.

“It’s very important for my confidence. It’s very important mentally and emotionally for me.”

The 26-year-old Djokovic stam-ped his authority on the title match early, racing to a 3-0 lead and never allowing the Spaniard to stage a comeback.

Serena wins

World number one Serena Wil-liams bagged her 10th title of the year with a 6-2 6-2 thrashing of Jelena Jankovic in the women’s final.

The top-seeded American broke the eighth-seeded Serb twice in the first set and three times in the second to register her 73rd win of the season.

Williams appeared in pain after serving an ace during the third game of the second set and her serve was broken for the only time in the match in that game as Jankovic went 2-1 ahead.

But it was Jankovic who had to take a medical time out after the game due to a problem in her hip.

The Serb, however, failed to win another game upon her return to the court as Williams racked up five games in a row to close out the match.