Federer and Bencic lead Switzerland to Hopman Cup title

Tennis

Roger Federer and Belinda Bencic combined for a comfortable mixed doubles victory to lead Switzerland to a thrilling victory over Germany in the Hopman Cup final yesterday.

With the win, Switzerland won their fourth Hopman Cup title. The last time Switzerland won the title was in 2001 when Federer had teamed up with Martina Hingis.

Federer weathered an initial storm from the Gen Next star Alexander Zverev to eventually come out victorious.

After losing a close first set 67(4), the world No.2 stamped his authority and dominated Zverev to the hilt in the second set.

Zverev was simply unable to play Federer at all in the second set and the Swiss great crushed him 6-0.

The final set saw pretty much a similar pattern with Federer dominating the German. Federer made the match his own with a massive 6-2 win in the final set and took the match.

Angelique Kerber then decimated Bencic 6-4, 6-1 to send the title battle to the mixed doubles match. The win was Kerber’s fourth straight singles win at the Hopman Cup this year.

Thereafter, Federer and Bencic came together to overcome Zverev and Kerber 4-3(4) 4-2 to lift the Hopman Cup for Switzerland.

With the win, Federer won his second Hopman Cup and the world No.2 was reminded of his first, which he won with Hingis.

“She (Hingis) had a great career and to have that in a small country like Switzerland is very rare,” Federer said after winning the title.

“It made me also believe with hard work and dedication you get really far because I didn’t believe that much at that point when I was younger, I thought it was more all talent.”

Federer is prepping for the year’s first Grand Slam, the Australian Open. Federer is one of the prime contenders for the title with the other three of the ‘Big Four’ in doubt.

Andy Murray has already pulled out of the tournament and Novak Djokovic is also in doubt, though he hasn’t taken a decision yet.

The Australian Open holds a special place in Djokovic’s heart, having been the place he won his first ever Grand Slam title.

Since then, five more Melbourne titles have come his way and despite a second-round exit at the hands of wildcard Denis Istomin, the Australian Open remains a crucial part of Djokovic’s calendar.