Novak Djokovic Begins 100th Title Charge With Straightforward Win In Brisbane
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Novak Djokovic showed no signs of rustiness in his first match of the 2025 season, easily winning at the Brisbane International.
The 37-year-old Serbian got to a very magical number of titles won on the ATP Tour. He currently has 99 titles to his name, which means that any tournament that he enters can be the one that will see him win his 100th title.
Of course, that's a special mark, as only two other male players managed to do that in the history of the sport. Jimmy Connors is an overall leader with 109 career titles, while Roger Federer managed to win 103 titles during his career.
Rafael Nadal, for example, has won 92 tournaments, and Djokovic is currently one title win away from reaching that magical 100 number like Connors and Federer. He will try to start his 2025 season with that 100th career triumph, and he chose the Brisbane International as the tournament to start his new season.
Djokovic had already played in Brisbane before, losing in the first round of the 2009 competition to Ernests Gulbis. However, he was on the court this year as well, winning a doubles match alongside Nick Kyrgios.
In his first singles match, the 24-time major winner took on home player Rinky Hijikata, who entered the main draw thanks to a wild card. Djokovic played his last Tour-level match in October 2024, losing to Jannik Sinner in the Shanghai Masters final.
Against Hijikata, the Serbian started perfectly. He held his serve to love and broke his opponent's serve immediately to lead 2-0. He later increased that lead to 3-0 after holding from 0-30 down.
In the remainder of the set, Djokovic held his serve relatively easily to win the opening set of the match 6-3 without facing a single break point. His goal was to follow up on that performance in the second set, and he managed to do that.
Once again, the 10-time Australian Open winner didn't face a single break point, and this time, he didn't break his opponent's serve only once, but twice, to win the second set 6-3 as well and the match 6-3, 6-3.
Djokovic's second-round opponent at the 2025 Brisbane International will be a player he knows very well. The Serbian played against Gael Monfils 19 times in his career, and he managed to beat him 19 times. Now, he will be eyeing his 20th win.
The top seed also addressed the crowd in Brisbane, giving his opponent credit for a good performance but also being happy with his own performance to start the new season.
"I always expect myself to do well on the court. Of course, a win is a win. To start a new season with a win is always important. I think Hijikata deserves a round of applause, he was really really good."
