diff --git a/engines/nfs.c b/engines/nfs.c
index ce748d1448..6bc4af1fac 100644
--- a/engines/nfs.c
+++ b/engines/nfs.c
@@ -280,7 +280,7 @@ static int fio_libnfs_open(struct thread_data *td, struct fio_file *f)
 	nfs_data = calloc(1, sizeof(struct nfs_data));
 	nfs_data->options = options;
 
-	if (td->o.td_ddir == TD_DDIR_WRITE)
+	if (td_write(td))
 		flags |= O_CREAT | O_RDWR;
 	else
 		flags |= O_RDWR;