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Djokovic will start his 2025 season in Brisbane
The Serbian has not participated in this event since 2009
December 03, 2024
Peter Staples/ATP Tour
Novak Djokovic in action at the 2024 Australian Open.
By ATP Editorial Board
Novak Djokovic will return to action in the first week of the 2025 season at the Brisbane International presented by Evie.
The former number one in the PIF ATP Rankings and 99-time circuit champion will try to kick-start his season when he appears in this hard-court tournament for the second time. Djokovic fell to Ernests Gulbis in his only previous appearance at this ATP 250 in Queensland in 2009.
Djokovic, whose only title in 2024 came at the Paris Olympics, will seek the 100th trophy of his career on the tour in Brisbane. The 37-year-old tennis player is trying to join Jimmy Connors (109) and Roger Federer (103) as the only ATP stars to reach this milestone.
Djokovic, who has won the Australian Open 10 times, has not competed since losing to Jannik Sinner in the Rolex Shanghai Masters championship match on Oct. 13. The Serbian, currently number 7 in the world, will lead a group that also includes his fellow Top 10 player and Brisbane champion in 2023, Grigor Dimitrov.
Last year’s finalist, Denmark’s Holger Rune, as well as Frances Tiafoe will also compete, while local favorite Nick Kyrgios is set to make his long-awaited return to competitive action. It will be the 29-year-old’s first appearance on the ATP Tour since June 2023 due to injury.
Defending champion Rublev leads Hong Kong group
World number 8 Andrey Rublev will defend his title at the Bank of China Hong Kong Tennis Open. Chinese stars Shang Juncheng and Yunchaokete Bu are also on the entry list in Hong Kong, where local hopes will be led by Coleman Wong.
Hong Kong played a major role in Shang’s rise up the PIF ATP Rankings in 2024: he reached his first ATP Tour semi-final at the event, before lifting his first tour-level title in Chengdu. The 19-year-old finished the year as world No. 50 and will compete at the upcoming Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF in Jeddah.
Source: https://www.atptour.com/es/news/djokovic-brisbane-2025-field-announcement
