Serbian superstar Novak Djokovic said that the ATP Cup was the ideal preparation for his bid to win an eighth Australian Open crown.
Speaking after Serbia beat Chile 2-1 to remain unbeaten after the round-robin stage, Djokovic said he wasn't fazed by having to play three top players in a row to start the season.
Djokovic made it three wins from three with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Cristian Garin, the world No 33, to win the tie for Serbia after Dusan Lajovic earlier beat Nicolas Jarry 6-2, 7-6.
Jarry and Alejandro Tabilo salvaged some pride for Chile when they beat Viktor Troicki and Nikola Cacic in the doubles 6-3, 7-6.
"I've never minded, to be honest, to face tough adversity from the blocks and have high-intensity matches from day one of the season," Djokovic, a 16-time Grand Slam winner, said.
"I had Kevin Anderson who was playing some extraordinary tennis. I thought it was the toughest match I've played here in Brisbane.
"And again against [Gael] Monfils, even though it was straight sets, it was still a lot of rallies and it was quite long and exhausting.
"I really am really happy with the challenges that I've had in the last six, seven days here, and hopefully that can allow me to build my form for Sydney and Melbourne later."
Serbia now travel to Sydney, where they will take on the eighth-ranked team in the quarter-finals and Djokovic said he expected to have even more support from Serbian fans there than in Brisbane.
"I'm enjoying it – I enjoy the fact that we will actually go to a different city together, travel today, practice there tomorrow, play in a different environment," he said.
"Sydney's got a big Serbian community, hopefully the support can be as good as it was here, even better.
"It's a team competition, it's how I personally treat it, and that's how it feels for all of us, so having that journey through various places in Australia together feels like a World Cup to us a little bit."
World No 1 Rafael Nadal overcame an error-strewn performance and Yoshihito Nishioka's brave challenge to lead Spain into the quarter-finals.
The 19-time grand slam winner made 36 unforced errors before beating Japan's Nishioka 7-6, 6-4.
Unbeaten Spain – who won the revamped Davis Cup in Madrid in November – finished top of Group B with Roberto Bautista Agut beating Go Soeda 6-2, 6-4 to secure the tie.
"It's the first time I played under these heavy conditions, so the feeling on court is completely different," Nadal, who has yet to drop a set in Australia, said. "I played against an opponent who has started the season on fire."
Japan finished second in Group B and are still in the mix to advance to the knockout stages in Sydney.
World No 4 Dominic Thiem was beaten by Polish youngster Hubert Hurkacz on Wednesday, a result that ends any Austrian hopes of advancing to the quarter-finals, with Poland also out of contention.
Hurkacz went into the match on the back of wins against world No 13 Diego Schwartzman and the 28th-ranked Borna Coric.
Add the 22-year-old claimed another big scalp when he defeated Thiem 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 in Sydney. "Dominic is a great player, the way he played the first set was unbelievable. He brought out the best in me," Hurkacz said.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
If you go...
Fly from Dubai or Abu Dhabi to Chiang Mai in Thailand, via Bangkok, before taking a five-hour bus ride across the Laos border to Huay Xai. The land border crossing at Huay Xai is a well-trodden route, meaning entry is swift, though travellers should be aware of visa requirements for both countries.
Flights from Dubai start at Dh4,000 return with Emirates, while Etihad flights from Abu Dhabi start at Dh2,000. Local buses can be booked in Chiang Mai from around Dh50
How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
Farasan Boat: 128km Away from Anchorage
Director: Mowaffaq Alobaid
Stars: Abdulaziz Almadhi, Mohammed Al Akkasi, Ali Al Suhaibani
Rating: 4/5
THE DRAFT
The final phase of player recruitment for the T10 League has taken place, with UAE and Indian players being drafted to each of the eight teams.
Bengal Tigers
UAE players: Chirag Suri, Mohammed Usman
Indian: Zaheer Khan
Karachians
UAE players: Ahmed Raza, Ghulam Shabber
Indian: Pravin Tambe
Kerala Kings
UAE players: Mohammed Naveed, Abdul Shakoor
Indian: RS Sodhi
Maratha Arabians
UAE players: Zahoor Khan, Amir Hayat
Indian: S Badrinath
Northern Warriors
UAE players: Imran Haider, Rahul Bhatia
Indian: Amitoze Singh
Pakhtoons
UAE players: Hafiz Kaleem, Sheer Walli
Indian: RP Singh
Punjabi Legends
UAE players: Shaiman Anwar, Sandy Singh
Indian: Praveen Kumar
Rajputs
UAE players: Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed
Indian: Munaf Patel
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
