Novak Djokovic to return to the court at the Brisbane International for the first time since the Shanghai Masters in October.
Novak Djokovic (Image via X)
Novak Djokovic is set to return to the ATP Tour after being away from competitive tennis for over two months. The Serbian will headline the Brisbane International, a tournament he has never won in his illustrious career. He arrived for the event and revealed that he was looking forward to claiming the title.
Djokovic ended the 2024 season without winning a tour-level title. His only success came at the Paris Olympics, where he defeated Carlos Alcaraz to win his elusive gold medal. He came close twice to winning a tour-level title but ended up finishing as runners-up. The Serbian legend has now turned his attention to the 2025 season.
He will be making his second appearance at the ATP 250 tournament in Brisbane which takes place from December 29 to January 5. Djokovic was beaten by Ernests Gulbis in the first round of the 2009 edition of the Brisbane International. The Serbian has not played a competitive match since losing to Jannik Sinner in the final of the Rolex Shanghai Masters.
Djokovic, who has arrived at the venue for the Brisbane International, said in an interview that he is happy to be in the right shape for the event. He added that he is looking forward to winning more than one match in the tournament.
“I finished my season quite early and just took some time to physically recover & get myself in the right shape…so I look forward to hopefully getting more than one match this week.”
Djokovic earlier announced his partnership with Andy Murray as his coach ahead of the 2025 season. The duo has been preparing for a formidable start to the 2025 season ahead of the Australian Open, which starts on January 12.
Novak Djokovic will partner with Nick Kyrgios in the doubles of the Brisbane International. The latter is making his comeback at the event after being away from the court for over a year. He last played a competitive match at the Stuttgart Open in June 2023 and has been sidelined due to knee and wrist injuries that required surgeries.
However, Djokovic and Kyrgios have been handed a wildcard in the doubles and will face unseeded opponents Alexander Erler and Andreas Miles in the first round. During the aforementioned interview, Djokovic said that playing alongside Kyrgios would be fun.
Djokovic will face Australia’s Rinky Hijikata in the first round of the singles side of the Brisbane International. If he does beat the World No. 73, he will likely face Gael Monfils in the second round.
