Djokovic returns from injury layoff with thumping win

Former world number one and Serbian tennis maestro Novak Djokovic is bursting with joy after making a resounding return to the tennis court, following the longest injury lay-off of his career.

Having remained sidelined for almost six months with an elbow injury, the 30-year-old made a successful comeback by thrashing world number five Dominic Thiem 6-1, 6-4 in the exhibition event at the Kooyong Classic in Melbourne today.

Djokovic looked in good form and full of optimism as he played the first competitive match since his withdrawal from the Wimbledon quarterfinal against Tomas Berdych due to injury.

Following the match, Djokovic said that he is quite satisfied with his comeback, especially his serve, which had been most affected by the elbow injury.

"It was a fantastic test for me to see where I am, to see what we have done as a team and whether it works on the court and it works pretty well. Especially the serve - that was the biggest question mark because of the elbow, that shot in my game was compromised," the Guardian quoted Djokovic, as saying.

"I don't want to be over-confident but I'm very, very happy with the way it went today," he added.

With the win, the 12-time Grand Slam champion's chances of playing in the first major of the season - Australian Open- have also boosted.

Though Djokovic said that his preparation for the season-opening Grand Slam tournament was not ideal, he believes it would be enough if he plays one more tournament ahead of heading into the Melbourne Park.

"It's the first time in my career that I've had such a long break.Never needed the help of Tennis Australia' says Bernard Tomic. It would be ideal if I got another tournament under my belt before the Australian Open but my elbow wasn't ready but I'm going to take whatever I can," he said.

Djokovic will now play in the Tie Break Tens in Melbourne alongside top-ranked Rafael Nadal , France's Stan Wawrinka and Nick Kyrgios of Australia.

The former world number one will aim to clinch his sixth Australian Open title when the tournament gets underway at Melbourne Park starting on January 15.