Novak Djokovic opened title defence in style as the world number one defeated Lukas Rosol 6-0, 6-3 in just 54 minutes to reach the second round of the China Open.

The 26-year-old, who won the tournament in 2009 2010 and 2012, is bidding to become the first four-time champion in Beijing and goes on to face Fernando Verdasco for a quarter-final berth..

"I have the perfect record on this court and this tournament," said Djokovic. "I have been saying it before and I'll say it again: I really feel special in China in relation to the fans.”

After winning a first set in which he allowed Rosol to tally just 11 points, Djokovic finished off the 46th ranked Czech with strong service games in the second set. The Serb converted four of his eight break points and winning 84 per cent of his service points.

Djokovic must retain his title this week if he is to have a chance of hanging on to the No. 1 spot. Should Rafael Nadal reach the final, he would regain the No. 1 ranking for the first time since 3rd July 2011.

The Spaniard opened his Beijing bid with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Santiago Giraldo to set up a second-round clash with Philipp Kohlschreiber

The left-hander is on an 18-match winning streak since a shock first-round exit at Wimbledon and is chasing his 11th title of a season that he only began in February.

Elsewhere, two contenders for the ATP World Tour Finals made successful starts in Beijing. Fifth seed Richard Gasquet defeated Florian Mayer 6-3, 7-6, while sixth seed Stanislas Wawrinka battled past Andreas Seppi 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in one hour and 48 minutes.

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