Novak Djokovic of Serbia poses with his trophy during the award ceremony after winning the men's singles final match against Rafa Nadal of Spain at the China Open Tennis Tournament in Beijing, China, October 11, 2015.[Photo/Agencies]

Novak Djokovic beat Rafael Nadal in straight sets to win his sixth China Open title on Sunday, closing in on the Spaniard's all-time record for unbeaten starts to a tournament.

The masterful Serbian handed a 6-2, 6-2 defeat to the winner of 14 Grand Slam events, who was trying very hard to recover his form after a tough year that saw him empty-handed in the majors.

Djokovic now owns eight trophies this season, including three of the four Grand Slams.

The world top-ranked Serbian has just one win to go before he will even Nadal in the most prolific rivalry of the Open Era in terms of matches played (45), with Nadal leading 23 to 22.