Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic got his season off to a perfect start with a battling win over hot-shot Denis Shapovalov in the ATP Cup Tuesday, but World No. 3 Dominic Thiem crashed to defeat.&nbsp;
The Serbian World No. 1, who will be chasing a ninth Australian Open crown when the first Grand Slam of the year begins on Monday, was pushed hard before coming through 7-5, 7-5 against the Canadian on the Rod Laver Arena.&nbsp;
Djokovic showed no signs of being hindered by a nasty blister on his racquet hand that troubled him at an Adelaide exhibition tie last week and returned 30 minutes later alongside Filip Frajinovic to play the decisive doubles rubber.&nbsp;
The pair beat Shapovalov and Milos Raonic 7-5, 7-6 (7-4) as defending champions Serbia took the tie against Canada 2-1 in Group A. &ldquo;It was a great opening of the season. Playing Shapo is always a great challenge on hardcourts, he is such a dynamic, explosive player,&rdquo; said Djokovic, who was fired up by playing in front of a smattering of noisy Serbian fans.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I thought we both played on a pretty high level, so I&rsquo;m really pleased with the way I started the season. This is a great competition,&rdquo; added Djokovic, who won all eight matches he contested en route to the trophy last year.&nbsp;
&ldquo;We need more competitions where we represent a team, represent our country.&rdquo; Serbia beat Rafael Nadal&rsquo;s Spain in the final of the inaugural and hugely popular tournament last year in Sydney&mdash;launched as a rival to the Davis Cup.&nbsp;
It has been slimmed down from 24 teams to 12 this year due to the Coronavirus with all matches at Melbourne Park over five days with US$7.5 million at stake, rather than the multi-city format employed in 2020.&nbsp;
Spain face a tough opening tie later Tuesday against hosts Australia, with Nadal up against fast-improving Alex de Minaur. On a cool day, big-serving Raonic got Canada off to a blistering start, crushing Dusan Lajovic 6-3, 6-4 in just 79 minutes to give his team a 1-0 lead, with the former World No. 3, now ranked 15, dropping just eight points on serve while sending down 11 aces.&nbsp;
It was left to Djokovic to level the tie before clinching the doubles rubber. The Alexander Zverev-led Germany are also in Group A and play Wednesday. While Djokovic tasted victory, US Open champion Thiem, who lost to the Serb in a gripping Australian Open final last year, got his season off to a disappointing start. He slumped 2-6, 4-6 to Italian World No. 10 Matteo Berrettini.
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World No. 1 makes perfect start to the season by leading Serbia to victory over Canada


ATP Cup: Novak Djokovic off with a bang

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ATP Cup: Novak Djokovic off with a bang

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