Nole is off to a winning start to the season.
World no.1 Novak Djokovic was dominant on United Cup debut on Sunday.
In his first official match of the 2024 ATP season, Novak eased past Zhizhen Zhang 6-3, 6-2 to give Serbia a 1-0 lead in Group E clash with China in Perth.
Djokovic was rock-solid in all aspects of his game as he clinched a 74-minute win in his first ATP H2H meeting with the world no.58.
Novak broke once in the first set and twice in the second, pushing Serbia in front ahead of the WTA match.
“It’s great to be back in Perth,” said Djokovic. “New year’s is in a few hours so I really appreciate you coming to hopefully celebrate new year’s eve with us here on the court. It’s been 10 years since I’ve been in Perth, and this arena is definitely one of the nicest, from inside and outside, that I’ve played in. Australia has been my happy place. The place where I made the most Slam wins in Melbourne, and I love coming back. I missed playing in Perth as well.”
In the second match of the day, WTA no.15 Qinwen Zheng defeated no. 119 Olga Danilovic 6-4, 6-2 to level the contest.
The victory sent the tie into a deciding mixed doubles rubber.
Novak and Olga outplayed Zhizhen Zhang and Qinwen Zheng 6-4, 1-6, 10-6 to keep Serbia in contention for quarter-finals.
They will take on the Czech Republic on January 2 at 03:00 CET.
Photo: Profimedia
