Playing in front of 15,000 passionate fans under the floodlights, the 39-year-old Serbian was pushed to the limit by the free-hitting home player. Djokovic dropped the opening set and found himself on the brink of defeat in the closing stages of the second before raising his level in the tie-break and dominating the decider.
The victory extended Djokovic’s unbeaten run in Beijing to 31-0, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index. The six-time China Open champion is competing at the ATP 500 event for the first time since 2015 and has now matched Rafael Nadal’s Open Era record for the best start to a single tournament.
Buyunchaokete, ranked World No. 104, played fearlessly and threatened a major upset on home soil. However, the Chinese player was unable to convert his opportunities when it mattered most against the sixth seed.
Djokovic, the oldest ATP 500 quarter-finalist since the series began in 2009, could next face Alexander Zverev. The Serbian leads their head-to-head 9-5.
Elsewhere on Friday, Daniil Medvedev continued his strong form with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Pablo Carreno Busta. Karen Khachanov followed up his victory over second seed Felix Auger-Aliassime by beating Alex Molcan 7-5, 6-3, while Hubert Hurkacz advanced past Arthur Gea in three sets.