OMNISPORT

Novak Djokovic made a flying start to his 2016 season as he saw off Dustin Brown in under an hour in the first round of the Qatar Open on Monday.

World number one Djokovic enjoyed an astonishing 2015, winning three of four grand slams, a fourth consecutive World Tour Finals trophy, a record six Masters 1000 titles and ending the season with an 82-6 record.

And it was little surprise the Serbian racked up his first win of the year with a 6-2 6-2 triumph over Brown in just 51 minutes.

Brown upset Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon in June, but was no match for Djokovic in Doha – a break of serve at 5-1 down in the first set a rare highlight for the German.

Djokovic will now face either Fernando Verdasco or Malek Jaziri in round two.

Seventh seed Jeremy Chardy was equally convincing in a 6-1 6-1 thrashing of wildcard and home favourite Mubarak Shannan Zayid.

British qualifier Kyle Edmund pulled off a surprise, though, with a 6-2 6-3 victory over Martin Klizan, a player ranked 59 places above him, while Damir Dzumhur saw off Marco Cecchinato 6-4 6-2.