Djokovic and Kyrgios win doubles opener at Brisbane International 2025
Nick Kyrgios made a triumphant return to professional tennis as the Australian, partnering 24-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic, beat Andreas Mies and Alexander Erler in the opening round of men’s doubles at Brisbane International on Monday.The wildcard Australian-Serbian pair of Kyrgios and Djokovic won 6-4, 6-7(4), [10-8] in an hour and 48 minutes at the Pat Rafter Arena.“I want to thank Nick for playing,” Djokovic said.“He said the other day that it should be a pleasure to play with him, and it is. I’m glad to share the court with him on his comeback. I haven’t played too many doubles matches ... in the last five years so whatever Nick was saying, I was following,” he added.A winning return 🙌@NickKyrgios gets the win on his return alongside @DjokerNole with a 6-4 6-7 10-8 victory over Erler/Mies pic.twitter.com/JPFDYnUCm1 — Tennis TV (@TennisTV) December 30, 2024Kyrgios had played only one singles tour match in the last two years due to knee, foot and wrist injuries.Kyrgios said he did not want to take anything for granted in his comeback.“I was just looking around at all the fans, this beautiful stadium. My comeback, this injury has been brutal ... I don’t know how many Aussie summers I’ve got left. I was loving the energy. I’m so happy to be back out here. We promised we’d do this one time before either he goes or I go. So I’m glad we’re still alive (in the doubles),” he said.Djokovic and Kyrgios will face the top-seeded Croatian-Kiwi duo of Nikola Mektic and Michael Venus in the next round.Djokovic and Kyrgios are also scheduled to play singles in Brisbane as preparation for Australian Open. The 37-year-old Serbian, a 10-time champion in Melbourne, faces local wildcard Rinky Hijikata while former Wimbledon runner-up Kyrgios, who is using Protected Ranking, takes on big-serving Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in the first round.The Australian Open begins from January 12.\(With inputs from Reuters)
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