The Serb is also in the second round of the men’s doubles, where Djokovic will face Nick Kyrgios after his return from injury.

Home favorite Kyrgios can now afford to focus on this doubles project after losing his opening singles match against Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard.

Djokovic’s doubts on the court surprised Kyrgios, but the pair impressed individually and as a team and emerged victorious.

Novak Djokovic praises Gael Monfils’ “incredible” agility ahead of Brisbane game

But back to the singles, and the 24-time Grand Slam winner now faces a familiar opponent: the French Monfils.

As for what he expects from his next opponent, Djokovic said in his final press conference at the Brisbane International: “I expect the streak to continue, an unbeaten streak against Gael.”

“We saw each other in the locker room today after our games and talked about it. It’s great. He is a year older than me. He’s still strong.

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“He has always been one of the best athletes we have on the tour. Flexibility, agility, speed, you know, strength, he’s just extraordinary.

“He’s a great guy. We have known each other since we were young and have played many games against each other. I look forward to it.

“I think he prefers those conditions where the surface is a little faster and therefore he can score points with his first serve. His first serve can really be a big weapon if he feels good about it, which seems to be the case.

“Last year he beat (Carlos) Alcaraz in Cincinnati, who is similar to the one here in terms of the speed of the surface and is quite fast.

“So if you serve well and execute your serves and put pressure on your opponent, he moves better than anyone, really.” He’s shown that he has incredible mobility and strong defense, so he’s also very good at the net is sent.

“So he’s been an all-round player for so many years and it’s great to see him still playing at this level as a veteran of the game. So it should be fun.”

What is the head-to-head record between Novak Djokovic and Gael Monfils?

Unsurprisingly, Djokovic and Monfils, aged 37 and 38 respectively, have met at a long list of different events over the years.

The former turned professional in 2003, a year before the latter, and the two met 19 times.

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It is noteworthy that Djokovic has won all 19 meetings so far, most recently in Cincinnati last year.

According to Tennis TV, this round of 16 victory helped make it the greatest unbeaten match in ATP history.

However, Monfils had much better memories of the event this time, as the ATP Tour number 55 defeated Alcaraz and Alexei Popyrin before losing to Holger Rune.

He now needs to produce similar, if not better, performances to put an end to his abysmal Djokovic record in Brisbane.

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