Djokovic beats Thiem in strong comeback after 6-month absence

In his first appearance in six months, Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic on Wednesday defeated Austria's Dominic Thiem 6-1, 6-4 at the Kooyong Classic exhibition here.

The 12-time Grand Slam champion seemed to have overcome the elbow injury that ended his 2017 season in July after losing in the Wimbledon quarter-finals. He also had to withdraw from the ATP Qatar Open and an exhibition tournament in Abu Dhabi, reports Efe.

"It feels great, obviously I was waiting for this moment for six months to play a match," the former World No.1 said after the win.

Although Djokovic said he was delighted with his performance, especially his serve, he acknowledged that he was still not in perfect shape.

Later in the day, Djokovic is scheduled to play a match at the Tie Break Tens, then another match on Thursday at the Kooyong Classic, according to the organisers.

After spending almost seven months sidelined, Djokovic looks to be tuning up his game as much as possible ahead of the Australian Open next week (January 15-28), the first Grand Slam event of the year, which he has won six times.

In the 2017 Australian Open, Djokovic lost in the second round to Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan.

--IANS

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