BENCIC SHARES SPOTLIGHT WITH FEDERER
Roger and Belinda shine as Switzerland down Russia
PERTH: Roger Federer subdued a feisty Karen Khachanov while Belinda Bencic outlasted Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova to help Switzerland beat Russia 3-0 in the Hopman Cup.
Federer won 6-3, 7-6 (10-8) as his Australian Open preparation gained momentum but the 19-time Grand Slam champion was pushed hard in the second set by the 21-year-old in front of a record crowd of 13,943 at the Perth Arena.
Playing with little inhibition and plenty of power, Khachanov broke Federer early on before the Swiss switched gears to march ahead and take the opening set in 29 minutes.
Federer, who beat Khachanov in straight sets at Halle last year in their only previous meeting, showed his experience in the second-set tie breaker that swung back and forth and clinched the contest on his third match point. “It was nice to see him free swinging the entire match, which isn’t easy to do,” Federer said of his opponent.
“I remember those days, match point down, you go for it, you don’t care. That is what you have to remind yourselves sometimes when you’re older, to go for it. He mixed up the play well, so it was a tough match for me.
“The tie-break was close, it was good to play that early on in the season, to play those nervy situations with the pulse up high, you’re sweating loads. The match had a bit of everything, so I’m very happy with the performance.”
Bencic had a tougher outing against world No. 15 Pavlyuchenkova but prevailed 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 before teaming up with Federer to win the mixed doubles dead rubber.
A buoyant Angelique Kerber beat a battling Eugenie Bouchard to lead Germany to a 3-0 win over Canada yesterday.
Former world No. 1 Kerber notched her second straight-sets wins in Perth to start the new year, while Bouchard – once ranked fifth but now 83rd – was testy after yet another comprehensive defeat.
Kerber’s win gave the Germans a perfect start to the Group A tie. Young gun Alexander Zverev then ensured they remained unbeaten after two outings with an emphatic win over Vasek Pospisil.
In the dead mixed doubles, the Germans completed a clean sweep with a straight-sets win.
If the Germans beat Australia tomorrow they will be guaranteed a berth in Saturday’s final.
World No. 4 Zverev cruised past the 108th-ranked Pospisil in a 6-4, 6-2 win.
The German called it his reward for putting in extra practice after his disappointing singles loss to Belgium’s David Goffin on Monday.
The 20-year-old was delighted to have kept his team on track for the final of a tournament which Germany has won twice, most recently through Boris Becker and Anke Huber in 1995.
“We have two wins now in the group, hopefully we can get one more,” he said.
“It is a team competition and we are in a good spot.” — AFP