Australia holds a special place in Grigor Dimitrov’s heart as the site of among his finest achievements and Brisbane in particular stands tall.
On Monday, the Bulgarian renews a mutual affinity for the crowd at Pat Rafter Arena when he begins his Brisbane International title defence against German qualifier Yannick Hanfmann.
Dimitrov’s first tour final came at the Queensland Tennis Centre in 2013, and he captured the event in 2017 on the eve of a run to the Australian Open semifinals, his second of three on a Grand Slam stage to date.
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Last year, he broke a seven-year title drought to again triumph at Pat Rafter Arena – the only tournament he has claimed twice in his career.
“Every year feels different, honestly. It’s like coming back for the first time. There’ve been so many years that I’ve started my year here. I like the conditions; I like the tournament. I like Australia overall, so I think that helps as well,” Dimitrov said.
“The year rolls by so quickly, at times you kind of lose sight and track of everything. I’m trying to be very mindful and trying to remind myself how good of a vibe that I can have and recreate every single time I’m back here.”
In a tussle of two 33-year-olds, second seed Dimitrov holds the edge over his 96th-ranked opponent.
The pair has crossed paths in the round of 32 at the Miami Masters in 2024 when Dimitrov surrendered just one game en route to the final, but Hanfmann did not drop a set in qualifying, including ending former world No.7 Richard Gasquet’s final Brisbane appearance.
Novak Djokovic and Nick Kyrgios’ first foray as a doubles duo opens Monday’s night session at PRA when the scratch pairing squares off against Austrian Alexander Erler and German Andreas Mies.
Kyrgios admitted how the 2022 Wimbledon singles finalists would fair in tandem was anyone’s guess.
“I don’t know how it’s going to be,” he grinned. “We might get absolutely snipped. We’ve never played doubles before. We might not win. Everybody thinks we’re going to mesh. Two completely different personalities. Let’s see how it goes.”
In her first singles outing since falling to Naomi Osaka in Toronto four months ago, former world No.2 Ons Jabeur closes out the night session against China’s Zheng Saisai.
The Tunisian, a three-time Grand Slam finalist, shut down her season early due to a shoulder injury and was eager to mount her comeback in Brisbane.
Fellow 30-year-old Zheng, the world No.69, claimed the pair’s only prior meeting to reach the Zhuhai final, but that was back in 2017 before Jabeur had emerged as a serious Grand Slam contender.
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Former world No.6 Matteo Berrettini continues his resurgence following a foot injury that derailed his 2023 season when he contests his first match since helping steer Italy to its second successive Davis Cup.
The 28-year-old broke Australian hearts when he narrowly snuck past Thanasi Kokkinakis to send the Italians through to the final in Malaga last month.
He will bid to do so again when he meets eighth seed Jordan Thompson in the second match on PRA.
Berrettini downed the Sydneysider in the opening round of the 2019 US Open before either had reached their respective peaks on tour.
For the second day in a row, an all-Australian clash will open the day session at PRA when qualifier Priscilla Hon meets a fellow Queenslander, world No.113 Kimberly Birrell, for the eighth time.
World No.167 Hon did not drop a set in qualifying and will carry a 5-2 ledger at all levels into the clash. Wildcard Birrell, however, claimed the pair’s only WTA-level clash in Seoul in 2022.