Novak Djokovic started his season with straight set wins however Nick Kyrgios’ return to singles motion didn’t go in accordance with his plans on the Brisbane Worldwide on Tuesday.
Djokovic tamed native favorite Rinky Hijikata 6-3, 6-3 in what was the top-seeded Serbian’s first tour-level singles match since October.
A day after his doubles victory alongside Kyrgios, Djokovic was exact along with his serve and groundstrokes as he outclassed Hijikata and greeted the applauding viewers with a gesture of enjoying the violin.
He’ll meet two-time Australian Open quarterfinalist Gael Monfils within the second spherical.
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“I at all times anticipate myself to do properly on the courtroom,” Djokovic stated in an on-court interview, “To start out off the brand new season with a win, it’s essential.”
When requested to ship a message to his new crew member, Andy Murray, he stated, “He’s snowboarding proper now , he’s bought a ski trip deliberate along with his household. I ship my like to the Murray household.
“I hope he doesn’t get injured earlier than he involves Melbourne. We talked earlier than the match, we do it daily. I’m thrilled to have him on my crew. For greater than 20 years he’s been on the opposite aspect of the web, for the primary time we’ll be on the identical aspect.”
Earlier, Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard fired 36 aces to beat Kyrgios 7-6(2) 6-7(4) 7-6(3) in a battle of huge servers on the Pat Rafter Area.
(with inputs from Reuters)