(Tennis news) Novak Djokovic made a losing start to his return to Australia, a year after his deportation but was met with an enthusiastic welcome from fans at the Adelaide International. His first match down under was in a low key doubles fixture alongside Vasek Pospisil but the pair lost 4-6 6-3 (10-5) to Bosnian Tomislav Brkic and Ecuador’s Gonzalo Escobar.

The Serbian will begin his singles campaign against Constant Lestienne from Croatia as he looks to build momentum ahead of the Australian Open. Djokovic will hope to secure his 10th Australian Open title and make a winning start to the 2023 season. While his doubles defeat was certainly not ideal, Djokovic was greeted by cheers and chants of “Novak, Novak” as he made his way to the court.

In other results, second seed Felix Auger-Aliassime lost 6-4 7-6 (5) to Australian Alexei Popyrin while Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka overcame fifth seed Holger Rune 2-6 6-4 6-4. British tennis star Jack Draper defeated South Korea’s Kwon Soon-woo 6-2 6-1 while veteran Andy Murray will take on American Sebastian Korda on Tuesday. Sixth seed Jack Draper will take on Edmund, who has recovered from knee trouble after a two year absence.

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