Jolly Roger back in the swing
ROGER Federer marked his longawaited comeback from injury with a confident straight-sets victory over Dan Evans to help Switzerland defeat Great Britain in their Hopman Cup opener.
The 35-year-old Federer, representing his nation in the mixed team event that he first won back in 2001, needed only an hour and three minutes to dispatch Birmingham’s Evans 6-3 6-4 in Perth.
Belinda Bencic then secured an unassailable 2-0 lead in the tie for the Swiss with a 7-5 3-6 6-2 victory over Heather Watson in the women’s singles.
It was Federer’s performance that grabbed the attention though, with the 17-time grand slam winner showing little sign of rust despite missing six months of action with knee and back problems.
He opened the singles showdown with an ace before breaking Evans in the sixth game of the first set.
The British number three effectively handed Federer the match by dropping his serve in the second-set opener and half an hour later, the former world number one had put one point on the board for Switzerland.
Federer, who received a standing ovation from spectators at the Perth Arena, said on www. hopmancup.com: “I’d like to live it again. I’m a little bit sad it’s over, because it was so nice out there.
“I was actually quite emotional. I thought for a first match it was great, because my expectations were obviously quite low.”
Switzerland wrapped up a 3-0 win over Britain with Federer and Bencic joining forces to beat Evans and Watson 4-0 4-1 in the mixed doubles.
Meanwhile, Johanna Konta dropped just two games in her opening match of the new season to progress in the Shenzhen Open in China.
Konta had finished the 2016 campaign inside the world’s top 10 and she picked up where she left off with a comfortable 6-2 6-0 firstround victory over Turkey’s Cagla Buyukakcay in under an hour.
“I’m really happy to have started the year again, and I’m really enjoying my time in Shenzhen,” Konta said in quotes published on wtatennis.com.
The Briton is seeded third in China and the only two women ranked ahead of her suffered more difficulties in their contests.
Top seed Agnieszka Radwanska dropped a set en route to a 6-2 6-7 (4/7) 7-5 success over wildcard entry Ying-Ying Duan while second-ranked Simona Halep also needed a third set to overcome Jelena Jankovic 6-1 3-6 6-3.
At the Brisbane International, Garbine Muguruza defeated home hope Sam Stosur in a contest that lasted just shy of three hours.
Muguruza won 7-5 6-7 (2/7) 7-5 and made it through to the second round where world number one Angelique Kerber and Dominika Cibulkova will enter the competition.