Clean sweep of singles success for Williams at the Hopman Cup
Serena Williams continued her preparations for the Australian Open by completing a clean sweep of singles victories at the mixed teams Hopman Cup in Perth on Thursday.
Williams, 37, will bid to equal Margaret Court’s record of 24 grand slam titles when she arrives in Melbourne later this month, and would have been encouraged with her early season form so far.
The American completed her third successive singles win at the Hopman Cup with a 6-1, 7-6 over Britain’s Katie Boulter, which followed wins over Maria Sakkari of Greece, and Swiss Belinda Bencic.
However, the world No 16’s perfect singles record this week wasn’t enough to keep the United States in contention at what is expected to be the last Hopman Cup, where she has twice been a winner.
Williams and Frances Tiafoe were already eliminated after losing their opening two mixed doubles ties.
With the Australian Open less than two weeks away, Williams dropped just one set in her singles matches, although at times she seemed troubled by a right shoulder problem and had both ankles strapped.
Her form was patchy across the three matches, but Williams said the round robin format of the event was ideal preparation for Melbourne.
“It was definitely good to play three singles matches here, not to mention the mixed,” she said after her singles match.
“It was perfect – it’s just like this in Melbourne. It’s the exact same sun and it gives me so many problems. After you serve, you are blind for the next two points.”
Williams cruised through the first set against Boulter, but found a more competitive opponent in the second.
Not for the first time this week, the frustration of the American grew as Boulter was able to match her for winners, with the Brit claiming an early break in the second game. Williams immediately broke back, but then enjoyed a slice of good fortune when her forehand dropped over the net on a Boulter break point in the fourth game.
The set remained on serve until the tie-break, which Williams dominated.
“She’s a champion so to actually share the court with her is such a privilege,” Boulter, 22, said. “She was one of the reasons I started playing tennis.”
In the men’s singles, the struggling Tiafoe led 5-3 in the first set, but won just one more game in losing 7-6, 6-0 to Cameron Norrie. The Brits claimed the tie with victory in the mixed doubles.