Djokovic serves notice to rivals

Novak Djokovic will begin the defence of his Australian Open title on Jan 18 with an ominous warning to rivals that he is in the form of his life.

Speaking after his destruction of Rafael Nadal at the Qatar Open on Saturday - with both players saying afterwards that the Serb played perfect tennis - the world No 1 said he "expected" to play at the same level at this year's first Grand Slam.

"I'm hoping that I can actually peak and play as well as I did today in Melbourne," Djokovic told a media conference.