The United Cup tennis competition got underway on Friday in Perth, with Spain playing Brazil and Australia playing Britain in a significant late match.

Matches in Perth and Sydney, which start on Saturday, are part of the event that features mixed teams from eighteen different countries. From each of the Perth and Sydney group games, two quarterfinalists will be chosen, with the semifinals and the final scheduled for Sydney.

Serbia’s group-stage matches are against China on Sunday and the Czech Republic on Tuesday. Novak Djokovic’s men’s singles matchups are against Jiri Lehecka, ranked No. 31 and world No. 58 Zhang Zhizhen.

In addition to winning the Australian Open ten times in a row, Djokovic has won a record 24 Grand Slam singles titles. He only missed out on Wimbledon, where he lost to Carlos Alcaraz in the final in five sets. Upon his arrival in Perth, he declared that he had no intention of retiring.

Djokovic expressed his thoughts in a recent interview and said: “I hope it’s not the last time, to be honest. I mean, I always look forward to coming back to Australia. I always felt like I played my best tennis over the years here and had great support.”

He added: “It feels great; it’s been a while since I was here last. I remember every single time I played in Perth, there was great attendance. People love tennis, and people love sports in Australia in general. So I don’t expect anything less this time, and I’m sure it’s going to be a blast for all of us.”

Novak Djokovic in 2023

Currently the world no.1, Novak played his last match on the 25^th of November when he surrendered to world no.4 Jannik Sinner 6-2 2-6 7-5 in the Rubber 2 of the Davis Cup (draw).

Until now, during this year the Serbian has achieved a compiled 56-7 win-loss record. The Serbian clinched 7 titles in 2023 in Adelaide, Australian Open, French Open, Cincinnati, U.S. Open, Paris and the Nitto ATP Finals. Djokovic was the finalist in Wimbledon.