'It feels really good to be back on the court': Djokovic back with a bang at Kooyong

Serb brings a six-month spell on the sidelines to an end with a thumping 6-1, 6-4 win over world No 5 Dominic Thiem at the Kooyong Classic exhibition tournament

Novak Djokovic of Serbia plays a backhand against Dominic Thiem of Austria in the 2018 Kooyong Classic. Daniel Pockett / Getty Images

Novak Djokovic returned to competitive tennis with a bang on Wednesday, bringing a six-month spell on the sidelines to an end with a thumping 6-1, 6-4 win over world No 5 Dominic Thiem at the Kooyong Classic exhibition tournament.

Six-time Australian Open champion Djokovic pulled out of the Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi last week because of continuing problems with his right elbow and wore a sleeve over the joint during his round-robin match against the Austrian.

In a huge boost for Melbourne Park organisers, who have already lost Andy Murray and Kei Nishikori to injury, Djokovic showed no obvious discomfort as he broke Thiem three times to win the first set in just 21 minutes.

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Read more:

• Dominic Thiem: '2018 is the time' for younger generation to break through at the grand slams
• Stan Wawrinka 'feeling really positive' ahead of return at the Australian Open
• Rafael Nadal beaten in his first match of 2018 but insists his knee is 'fine'

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"It was a great start, it feels really good to be back on the court," a beaming Djokovic said in an on-court interview after his first competitive set since Wimbledon last year.

"I can't stop laughing outside and inside. It's a great joy, I love this sport, it's a great passion of mine so I missed it.

"I wasn't that nervous, although I had that matchplay attitude ... I wanted to be back on court, unfortunately the elbow wouldn't let me last week."

HE'S BACK!@DjokerNole is in ominous form at the #KooyongClassic defeating World No. 5 Dominic Thiem in straight sets 6-1 6-4. pic.twitter.com/ilA6TdPC9H

— Kooyong Classic (@KooyongClassic) January 10, 2018

The 30-year-old Serb, who won the year's first grand slam five times in six years until 2016, did not have it all his own way in a tighter second set and it went with serve to 5-4 when Djokovic broke again to wrap up the victory in 42 minutes.

Now ranked 14th in the world after his long absence, the 12-time grand slam singles champion will be one to avoid in Thursday's draw for the Australian Open.

"This has been a tough period for me, obviously injury is the greatest enemy a professional athlete can have," Djokovic said.

"You can't do anything about it except try to recover as quickly as you can.

"The Australian Open is the big one, it's the one I wanted to be ready for. It's a great start."

Another former grand slam champion, Marin Cilic, did not have such a good day at the former venue of the Australian Open with the Croatian world No 6 losing 6-7, 6-4, 7-5 to Australian Matthew Ebden.

The number two ranked Australian @mattebden played some commanding shots in the second set and then held it together in the third to beat @cilic_marin 6-7(3) 6-4 7-5

Match report >> https://t.co/S8MIImeYEu pic.twitter.com/D7sG5nRWRJ

— Kooyong Classic (@KooyongClassic) January 10, 2018