Brisbane International: Kyrgios and Djokovic Fall in Doubles, Dimitrov Secures Quarterfinal Spot
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Brisbane, Jan 1 (NationPress) The doubles campaign for Nick Kyrgios and Novak Djokovic at the Brisbane International came to a dramatic conclusion as they faced a defeat against top seeds Nikola Mektic and Michael Venus in a closely contested tiebreak on Wednesday.
After recovering from a set deficit, Djokovic and Kyrgios appeared to be on the brink of reaching the semi-finals until the former World No. 1 pushed too hard on his second serve at 8/6, leading to a four-point winning streak by the top seeds, who ultimately clinched the match with a score of 6-2, 3-6, 10-8.
This loss marked the end of Kyrgios’ highly anticipated comeback tournament following an 18-month break due to injury.
Prior to their doubles exit, Kyrgios faced a first-round singles defeat against France’s Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard on Tuesday night. Competing for the first time since wrist surgery in September 2023, the 29-year-old moved well and displayed minimal signs of rustiness, although he did have significant taping on his wrist and required the physio's assistance during the match.
On the other hand, Djokovic’s initial singles match of the season at the Brisbane International met his high expectations as he comfortably defeated local favorite Rinky Hijikata on Tuesday in his first tour-level singles match since October.
Djokovic is set to face Gael Monfils in the second round of singles on Thursday, aiming to extend his ATP Head-to-Head record against the French player to 20-0.
In Wednesday's men’s singles, Grigor Dimitrov advanced to the quarterfinals after triumphing over Australian wildcard Aleksandar Vukic.
The reigning men’s champion secured a 6-2, 7-6 victory, marking his second consecutive win in straight sets and setting up a matchup against either eighth seed Jordan Thompson or American Alex Michelsen.
At 33 years old, this victory marked Dimitrov's 25th match win in Brisbane, bringing him to his eighth quarterfinal at the Queensland Tennis Centre out of nine straight appearances, and improving his record to 50-6 against players ranked outside the top 50, according to tournament statistics.
