Novak Djokovic form ‘as good as it gets’ in United Cup debut

Australian Open champion powers Serbia to win over China
Australia need to beat USA to have any chance of making quarters

A “rusty” Novak Djokovic says his straight-sets thumping of China’s Zhang Zhizhen was as good as it gets for an opening match of the summer, and he expects to be even better by the time the Australian Open rolls around.

Djokovic crushed Zhang 6-3, 6-2 in 72 minutes on Sunday night to give Serbia a 1-0 lead in their United Cup tie against China in Perth. World No 15 Qinwen Zheng levelled the tie at 1-1 with a 6-4, 6-2 win over world No 119 Olga Danilović in the women’s singles. Djokovic teamed with Danilović in the deciding mixed doubles, and they triumphed 6-4, 1-6, 10-6 (match tiebreak) to seal a 2-1 win just minutes before midnight.

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