Novak Djokovic has sights set on Australian Open after painless victory over Dominic Thiem in Kooyong Classic comeback game

Novak Djokovic played his first competitive match in six months on Wednesday, a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Dominic Thiem at the Kooyong Classic. He couldn’t have been happier – or more impressive.

It was apparent early on that Djokovic was back to full court fitness. He stopped quickly, abruptly changed directions and stabbed at a full-stretch volley that whizzed past Thiem for a winner.

He then turned and beamed. Djokovic was back after the longest injury lay-off of his career and he was clearly enjoying himself on the court again.

Wearing a compression sleeve on his right arm to protect his troublesome elbow, Djokovic dominated the fifth-ranked Thiem in an exhibition match at the Kooyong Classic, a key tune-up event for next week’s Australian Open.

Still smiling afterward, Djokovic said he’d had doubts whether he’d be ready to play the first grand slam of the year, but the win over Thiem was a major confidence boost.

“Obviously, I was waiting for this moment for six months to get out on the court and play a match,” he said. “Also, I got a great opponent today, the number five in the world, so it was a fantastic test for me to see where I am.”

Djokovic, who had been sidelined with the elbow injury since a quarter-final loss at Wimbledon last year, initially planned to play in an exhibition event in Abu Dhabi and then a tournament in Qatar to start the season, but withdrew from both due to lingering pain in his elbow.