Djokovic to kick off 2025 campaign at Brisbane International
Novak Djokovic will play the Brisbane International to begin his 2025 season, with the Serbian sharing the news on Wednesday morning (AEDT).
It will be only the second time Djokovic has competed at the annual ATP Tour event in Queensland, which takes place from December 29 to January 5 — the week before the Australian Open.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion joins Grigor Dimitrov, Holger Rune, Matteo Berrettini, Sebastian Korda, Frances Tiafoe, Nick Kyrgios, Alexei Popyrin and Jordan Thompson as other top players to sign up for the event.
This puts Djokovic as the No.1 seed in Brisbane, provided no higher-ranked players are announced in the Brisbane draw.
The news comes as the 10-time Australian Open champ makes a push to be more competitive in 2025 after failing to win a Grand Slam this year.
“In 2024 I didn’t play much and, Olympic gold and Wimbledon final aside, it was perhaps the least profitable season in the last 10 years, with many ups and downs, issues to be resolved even on a private level,” he said in a recent interview.
“However, I feel that I can still play at a high level.
“[Jannik] Sinner and [Carlos] Alcaraz have established themselves as the two best players in the world, not forgetting [Alexander] Zverev.
“All of them will be the main candidates to win the Slams and other titles.
“However, physically and mentally I am ready to play my tennis again.
“I have the feeling that I can challenge these guys, and my experience can come in handy.
“So next year I will play more tournaments, and the Slams in particular will be my priority.
“I will give my best to win, of course if my body allows me to.”
Despite Djokovic’s quiet 2024, tennis bookmakers still have him in the top three lines of outright betting for all four Grand Slams in 2025.
Until recently, he led tennis betting odds for the 2025 Australian Open; however, he has now slipped to the third line at +300 with Bovada, behind defending champion Jannik Sinner (+175) and Carlos Alcaraz (+240).