Grigor Dimitrov and Karolina Pliskova will both return to defend their Brisbane International titles in January.

Former world No.1 Pliskova beat Alize Cornet in straight sets while Dimitrov broke a two-year ATP drought when he defeated Japan’s Kei Nishikori in the men’s final.

“This year was something special to me, I’m not going to lie,” Dimitrov said.

“I came from a very hard off season and I had to play back-to-back matches against a top-10 player. That meant a lot to me and it gave me a lot of confidence coming into the Australian Open.”

It will be the sixth time Dimitrov has started his season in Brisbane, playing at a venue he thrives in, Pat Rafter Arena.

“It’s such a humbling arena … so much tennis history behind it and you can feel it and I think people overall appreciate that so much,” he said.

“You as a player you want to do better, you want to improve yourself and you almost don’t want to disappoint.”

The Bulgarian, who faces former US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro in a China Open quarter-final on Friday, will be joined by world No.1 Rafael Nadal and No.3 Andy Murray in Brisbane.