Djokovic beat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the final of the 2008 Australian Open

Novak Djokovic suffered a surprise setback ahead of his Australian Open defence, with a first-round defeat at the Brisbane International.

The 21-year-old crashed out 6-4 6-4 at the Pat Rafter Arena against his former training partner Ernests Gulbis.

Djokovic said: "I am not panicking, the Australian Open is my highest goal for this part of the year."

The world number three will now play at the Sydney International next week after being granted a wildcard.

British doubles number one Jamie Murray and new partner Dusan Vemic did progress past the first round at the Brisbane International, beating Austrians Julian Knowle and Jurgen Melzer 6-7 6-2 10-4.

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"That was our first match together and it was great to get off to a winning start," he said. "Melzer and Knowle are an established pair with a great record so it was a good win for us."

Elsewhere in the men's singles, second seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who lost to Djokovic in the 2008 Australian Open final, beat Argentina's Agustin Calleri 6-2 7-5.

Fourth seed Robin Soderling andRichard Gasquet, seeded seven, became the first two men into the third round.

Soderling, seeded four, had a 6-3 6-3 win against Julien Benneteau and Gasquet overcame Taylor Dent 7-5 6-4.

Fifth seed Tomas Berdych beat Brydan Klein 6-0 6-4 to set up a meeting with Kei Nishikori, who ousted Bobby Rynolds, in round two.

In the Hopman Cup in Perth, meanwhile, Lleyton Hewitt continued his comeback from a hip injury by beating Dominik Hrbaty 7-6 (7-4) 6-7 (1-7) 6-4.

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