Novak Djokovic confirmed that he is a real nightmare for Gael Monfils, defeating him for the 20th time in as many clashes on the professional tour. The French veteran had hoped to get his first time against the Serbian legend in Brisbane this week, but a strong performance from Nole prevented him from progressing to the quarter-finals.

The 24-time Grand Slam champion has looked in excellent shape and is intent on achieving exciting results in 2025. Despite Gael’s attempts, the former world No. 1 never got distracted and won the match with a score of 6-3 6-3 sending a clear warning to all his rivals ahead of the 2025 Australian Open.

During their rivalry – which has become the most unbalanced in tennis history – Monfils has only come very close to victory once. The reference is to the 2020 Dubai ATP 500, when the French ace had three match points before surrendering to Novak once again.

The feeling is that Gael’s game does not create too many problems for the 37-year-old from Belgrade, who knows how to exploit his opponent’s weaknesses and is much stronger in decisive moments.

In addition, the current world number 7 is highly motivated to win this tournament to lift the 100th trophy of his legendary career

“I never won Brisbane International. Yeah, it’s true. Hopefully this is the year, that’s why I’m here” – Nole said in the post-match interview.

“I played only a couple of times, I played a tournament a long time ago back in 2009, and I played with the Serbian team in ATP Cup here I think four or five years ago.

“So I haven’t played too many times, but every time I play, it was in front of the packed stadium in front of very passionate tennis fans and I want to thank you all for your really great support and presence tonight. You’ve been amazing throughout the entire week” – he concluded.