Novak Djokovic kick-starts his quest for more glory against Gael Monfils in the first round of the Mubadala World Tennis Championships on Thursday.
Djokovic will be the most prepared out of all six players at this event having based himself in Abu Dhabi over the off season, enjoying the winter sun in the Gulf.
The world number one has been enjoying the chance to celebrate and reflect on his achievements over the past twelve months and he's been the recipient of multiple gongs. However the only prize which matters for Djokovic right now is the Australian Open title. He will be going for a hat-trick of crowns in Melbourne next month and he'll be looking to stamp his authority over some of his leading rivals during the next few days.
Djokovic was understandably bullish when talking to the press ahead of this event. "This year's success gives me a reason to believe that I can win again. Why not?" he said. "I think it doesn't make any sense to be anything other than optimistic. I need to believe in my qualities and my abilities and I need to believe that I can repeat the success."
Few will be giving Monfils much chance on Thursday. Djokovic has won all eight of their encounters on tour and back in the summer he crushed the Frenchman for the loss of just three games in Montreal.
Djokovic is 6/4 to go all the way this week with
bet365 