Novak Djokovic makes his feelings known after 1st singles win of 2025 season at Brisbane International
Novak Djokovic opened his 2025 season on a winning note at the Brisbane International. He was a 6-3, 6-3 victor over local favorite Rinky Hijikata on December 31.
The Serb had earlier scored a win in doubles, where he is partnering Nick Kyrgios. The singles win, however, was extra special as this year marks the first occasion in a long time when Djokovic is playing at an Australian Open warm-up tournament.
Djokovic reflected on his performance during his post-match press conference, calling it a "really solid" match.
"As far as for singles, I think the match was really solid," Novak Djokovic said. "Hijikata played well. After he was Love-3 down he started to raise his game, I think."
He expressed satisfaction with the way he started the encounter, mentioning that he was able to maintain his level well enough despite momentary dips.
"I started off extremely well and pretty much the whole match kept the level except a few moments. I had a few dips here and there, but, you know, I think he served well. He made me work, particularly in the second set, for my win," he added.
Looking back at a pivotal point at 3-3 in the second set, Djokovic said he was able to raise his level from there on out and break his opponent on a couple of occasions to secure a win.
"You know, since 3-All in the second, I think I raised my game and broke his serve twice and really ended up the match in style," Novak Djokovic said. "I think serving helped a lot. My serving both in doubles and singles was terrific."
Expressing happiness with the way that he had been serving at the start of the new season, Djokovic said:
"Been working on it. So great to see that I'm able to get, every game, at least one or two free points. That helps a lot, you know, on a surface like this. It was a good start, good start of the season, no doubt," he added.
In the past few years, Djokovic has opened his season directly at the Australian Open, where he has lifted the crown on 10 occasions. He, however, fell at the semifinal stage last year to eventual champion Jannik Sinner.
The Serb also failed to capture any of the other three Grand Slam titles of the year and is looking to be better prepared heading to Melbourne this season.
"I really want to try to go far in this tournament" - Novak Djokovic after posting opening win at Brisbane
Novak Djokovic has had a huge amount of success Down Under and holds the record for the most number of Australian Open titles at 10. However, he is not thinking about all that at this point.
Elaborating on his immediate goals, the Serb said he was looking to stage a deep run at the Brisbane International as that is what his fans want.
"I really want to try to go far in this tournament," Novak Djokovic said. "I know a lot of people that come and watch me play and pay tickets, they don't want to come and watch me practice. They want to watch me compete and try to win."
Although he admitted that he was using the extra matches to fine-tune his game heading into the Australian Open.
"I go with that kind of attitude out on the court, but it is true that the kind of a big goal is Melbourne, trying to iron out my shots and make sure that I am at my best for the first match in Melbourne," he added.
Djokovic will next take on Gael Monfils in the second round on Thursday, January 2. The Frenchman had gotten the better of Nishesh Basavareddy in a tight three-set battle in his opening match.