Two weeks before defending his title at the Australian Open, Novak Djokovic made short work of world number 58 Zhang Zhizhen. Four days after his exhibition match lost to Carlos Alcaraz (4-6, 6-4, 6-4), the Serbian, world number one, launched his United Cup (December 29 – January 7), a mixed team competition organized by the ATP and the WTA, with a victory in two sets (6-3, 6-2) and 1h14 of play at the expense of the Chinese.
Djokovic will take part in the mixed doubles with his compatriot Olga Danilovic this Sunday, before challenging world number 31 Jiri Lehecka (Czech Republic) in two days. The United Cup brings together eighteen nations in six pools divided between Sydney and Perth. The first in each group and the two best runners-up will qualify for the quarter-finals. The matches consist of men’s singles, women’s singles and mixed doubles.
