Brother’s wise words inspire Gavrilova for 2018

IF the prophesy of Daria Gavrilova’s brother comes true, the world No.25 is set for a ripper 2018.

Gavrilova finished 2017 in grand style with a crushing 6-1, 6-4 win over Canadian Eugenie Bouchard in their Hopman Cup tie yesterday.

After the match, Gavrilova revealed she had been thinking about a wise saying her brother used to tell her.

“In Russia, we’ve got that saying – the way you finish the year, that’s how it’s going to be. Something like that,” Gavrilova said.

“I think my brother came up with it, and it was stuck in my head, playing up in my head.

“I don’t know if that helped, but it is nice to win.”

Moscow-born Gavrilova has set a goal to cement a place in the world’s top 20 in 2018.

Australia won their Hopman Cup opener against Canada after Thanasi Kokkinakis followed up with a tough 6-4, 3-6. 6-3 win over world No.108 Vasek Pospisil.

Kokkinakis made a bright start to his match by winning the first set, but the game was in the balance after Pospisil dug deep to win the second.

The crucial moment of the third set came in the sixth game, when Pospisil saved three break points from 0-40 down, before Kokkinakis set up another break point and duly converted.

Kokkinakis held serve from that point on to secure the win in one hour and 53 minutes.

Gavrilova was ruthless early against Bouchard, and would have delivered a first-set bagel if not for some unforced errors in the sixth game. Teh 23-yearold committed three double faults during the sixth game of the second set. But she managed to hold serve eventually before wrapping up the win in 78 minutes.

“I was very happy with the start,” Gavrilova said.

“I was very physical from the beginning. I told myself you’re going to be tough from the very first point, and I managed to do that pretty well. “I got a bit nervous in the end.