By Chris Oddo | Satursday January , 2018
Belinda Bencic is back! As is Angelique Kerber! And Roger Federer? Well, he’s always been around…
The Swiss duo claimed the Hopman Cup on Saturday, defeating Germany in a close battle that was decided by mixed doubles, capping a brilliant week in Perth where attendance records were set and some of the most talented stars in tennis prepped their games for the upcoming Australian Open.
Federer started the blockbuster final with an impressive comeback win over Alexander Zverev (see highlights above), 6-7(4), 6-0, 6-2, before a resurgent Angelique Kerber answered the bell by knocking off Bencic, 6-4, 6-1.
In the mixed finale, Federer and Bencic won in straight sets, 4-3(3), 4-2, to bring the nation its first Hopman Cup title since 2001, when Federer and recently retired Martina Hingis hoisted the cup.
“Every trip has been very memorable for me,” Federer told HopmanCup.com. “It’s a totally different feeling to when I won with Martina because I was the apprentice and she was the Master. Maybe this time it’s the other way round. It’s been a perfect week, I can’t thank Belinda enough. She made the difference in the final, with those three winners late on. In my mind, she’s been the ‘MVP’ in the doubles.“
“With Roger I have to say it is even more special,” a giddy Bencic told reporters.
Last year playing well at the Hopman Cup was the perfect catalyst for a fairy tale run to the Aussie Open title. This year Federer hopes that same effect occurs. “There is just a lot of positivity,” he said. “It was a great week as a team, but also personally in singles I played great. I just have to pace myself in the lead up to Melbourne and I’ll be ready.”
As for Bencic, the 20-year-old has risen from outside the Top 300 late last summer to her current perch inside the Top 100 on the strength of 18 straight wins—including victories over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, CoCo Vandeweghe and Naomi Osaka at Hopman Cup. That streak ended at the hands of Kerber tonight, but it’s clear that Bencic is ready to finally put a long run of injury misfortunes behind her.
As for Kerber, she has looked like the player that wowed the tennis world in 2016 when she climbed to No.1 and won two major titles. “I won all four matches and of course that gives me a lot of confidence. I’m just looking forward and trying to take the energy and how I played her to the next tournament.”
World No.4 Zverev was less sanguine about his performance but he still took the bright spots from a trip to the final. “I had four matches, I don’t know if they were good or not,” he said. “I took this week as a preparation still—this is still part of my offseason. Hopefully I can prepare and be better in Melbourne.”