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BRISBANE, Australia – There was just one singles match on the sked Sunday in Brisbane, so the 2025 season begins in earnest on Monday as defending champion Grigor Dimitrov takes the court.

Dimitrov, who is now 33 (!), finished the 2024 season in the top 10 – at No. 10. And he had some off-season time without the ATP finals (where he was a sub) or Davis Cup to contend with.

He looks as smooth as ever; watching him on the practice court is just such a low-stress pastime. He rarely looks rushed. He rarely grunts or looks like it’s anything but easy for him.

Here’s how he looked against Jordan Thompson over the weekend.

And perhaps that’s one reason why, after 15 years on the circuit, he looks as good as ever.

His draw in Brisbane is decent – qualifier Yannick Hanfmann first up, and then Aussie wild card Aleksandar Vukic. After that, he could face another Aussie, Jason Thompson (he’s seen above practicing with him Saturday) or possibly Matteo Berrettini.

Rune looking to rebuild

For Holger Rune, still just 21, 2025 will hopefully be a bit of a reset.

He got as high as No. 4 in the world just before the 2023 US Open, but dropped down to No. 17 just a year later to finish 2024 at No. 13 after making the semifinals at the Basel 500, and at the Paris Masters.

He went through a few personnel evolutions. And with Boris Becker shortlived, and Patrick Mouratoglou seemingly out of the picture from the end of July (he’s working with Naomi Osaka), he had Kenneth Carlsen on board.

But by October, he announced that Lars Christensen, his original childhood coach, would once again be on the bag although Carlsen seems to still be in the picture. Christensen had been working with another Danish player, Clara Tauson (who is the No. 5 seed in Auckland this week).

And if you thought Mom would be staying home by now, you’d be wrong. She was right there on the practice court with him on Sunday in Brisbane.

Rune is defending a final in Brisbane. But he’s only defending second-round points at the Australian Open.

He has a tough one from the get-go as he opens 2025; he plays Jiri Lehecka in the first round on Monday. Lehecka, just 23, was on the rise when injuries derailed him some in 2024.

Berrettini – time to fly again

After a couple of years during which injuries derailed his progress – after the Australian Open three years ago, Berrettini hit his career high of No. 6 – the 28-year-old Berrettini showed during Davis Cup that he’s back after a strong start to 2024, and then a swoon.

Berrettini was outside the top 150 when he returned to action in March at a Challenger in Phoenix.

But he went on a great tear on the clay – winning ATP 250 titles in Marrakech, Gstaad and Kitzbuhel. He also made the final on grass in Stuttgart – a tournament sponsored by his clothing sponsor.

All of that got him back into the top 50. And if he didn’t do that much late in the season, he has everywhere to go in 2025 as he’ll look to post up points at the Masters 1000s and Grand Slams.