24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic beat wild card Rinky Hijikata 6-3, 6-3 in the first round at the Brisbane International presented by Evie, on Tuesday evening.
The top seed from Serbia earned a comfortable triumph against the home favourite in 75 minutes inside Pat Rafter Arena. He broke three times from five opportunities and didn’t face a single break point during the contest.
It was Novak’s first tour-level singles match since October.
“I always expect myself to do well on the court. A win is a win,” said Djokovic in his on-court interview. “To start off the new season with a win is very important. I think Hijikata deserves a great round of applause for his performance tonight, he was really good. He made me work, definitely, for the win tonight.”
Match statistics: aces (12-7), double faults (0-1), winners (26-15), unforced errors (12-16), total points won (61-40).
For quarter-final spot at the ATP 250 event, Novak will face Gael Monfils on Thursday. He holds a perfect 19-0 ATP H2H record against the Frenchman.
In the doubles competition, Nole and Nick Kyrgios came within two points of extending their run in Brisbane, but a double fault in the match tie-break proved to be a turning point against Nikola Mektic and Michael Venus. The top seeds prevailed 6-2, 3-6, 10-8 to move into the quarter-finals.
Photo: Profimedia
