Roger Federer, Nitto ATP Finals 2017, Day One
Photo by Dave Shopland/BPI/REX/Shutterstock | Roger Federer, Nitto ATP Finals 2017, Day One

Federer highlights a class Hopman Cup field as the Road to Melbourne starts here

By Ros Satar

  • Roger Federer once more makes Perth the start of his season as he heads up this year’s Hopman Cup line-up.
  • Tournament celebrates 30 years.
PERTH, AUSTRALIA – The Hopman Cup sees in a landmark anniversary with another ‘old-timer’ as Roger Federer returns to Perth as his season opener.

 

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Roger Federer once more makes Perth the start of his season as he heads up this year’s Hopman Cup line-up.

The Hopman Cup signals the start of the Road to Melbourne as some of the world’s top players gather for the team invitational, celebrating its 30th year.

While this year there are no Brits, there are plenty of top names opting to open their season in the more relaxed environment of singles and mixed doubles.

Switzerland by far boasts the biggest hitter as Federer returns to partner Belinda Bencic, as he looks to gear up for his Australia Open defence.

Angelique Kerber – 2017 Β© Jimmie48 Tennis Photography

Another Melbourne champ makes her debut as Angelique Kerber, newly linked up to Johanna Konta‘s former coach Wim Fissette, looks to regain the form that took her to two Slam titles in 2016, and the World No. 1 spot. She will partner Alexander Zverev who seemed to go down a storm on his appearance last year.

David Goffin, fresh from his run to the Nitto ATP World Tour Finals, and the Davis Cup Final starts his season at a career high, and could be a definite one to watch early on in the season.

Jack Sock, Nitto ATP Finals 2017, Day One
Photo by Dave Shopland/BPI/REX/ Shutterstock | Jack Sock, Nitto ATP Finals 2017, Day One

 

American hopes lie with again with last year’s finalists Jack Sock and Coco Vandeweghe, while Russia fields two newcomers to the event as Karen Khachanov teams up with Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (who steps in for an injured Svetlana Kuznetsova).

Home hopes this year like with Thanasi Kokkinakis and Daria Gavrilova. Gavriloa has success with Nick Kyrgios in 2016 but they could not do the double after Kyrgios had to be replaced by Matt Ebden due to injury.

The full list of teams are:

Group A

Germany: Alexander Zverev, Angelique Kerber
Canada: Vasek Pospisil, Eugenie Bouchard
Belgium: David Goffin, Elise Mertens
Australia: Thanasi Kokkinakis, Daria Gavrilova

Group B

Switzerland: Roger Federer, Belinda Bencic
USA: Jack Sock, Coco Vandeweghe
Russia: Karen Khachenov, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
Japan: Yuichi Sugita, Naomi Osaka.

While the Mubadala World Tennis Championships is the first event to herald the new season, the road to Melbourne feels like it really starts here, and the Hopman Cup will be broadcast on Eurosport.

The Hopman Cup takes between between 30 December 2017 – 6 January 2018.
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