Djokovic beats Thiem in strong comeback after six-month absence

Melbourne: In his first appearance in six months, Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic on Wednesday defeated Austria's Dominic Thiem 6-1, 6-4 at the Kooyong Classic exhibition in Australia.

The 12-time Grand Slam champion seemed to have overcome the elbow injury that ended his 2017 season in July after losing in the Wimbledon quarterfinals, and which forced him to withdraw from the ATP Qatar Open and an exhibition tournament in Abu Dhabi, reports Efe.

"It feels great, obviously I was waiting for this moment for six months to play a match," the former world No.1 said after the win.

Although Djokovic said he was delighted with his performance, especially his serve, he acknowledged that he was still not in perfect shape.

In the 2017 Australian Open, Djokovic lost in the second round to Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan.