I think we are all entitled to be a little envious of Australians. They have beautiful summers, golden beaches and a successful cricket team. On the down side, however, there are a host of creatures on land and in the sea that would kill you and eat you given half a chance.
That said, there shouldn’t be many man-eating predators inside the Perth Arena, home of the Hopman Cup which is fast becoming the traditional pipe-opener to the new ATP and WTA Tours.
The Hopman Cup has become an important warm-up event for players ahead of the new season and has a format unlike any other major international team tennis tournament. It’s a mixed competition which sees male and female players play on combined teams in singles and a doubles matches. The players are invited, not selected by their national federations, but obviously organisers want the biggest names they can attract.
Seven countries are selected to compete alongside hosts Australia and are separated into two groups of four (with two teams being seeded) they then play against each of the other three teams in their group in a round-robin format. The top team in each group meet in the final to decide the champions.
Hopman Cup History
Now staged at the Perth Arena having been moved from the Burswood Dome in 2012, the tournament is named in honour of great Australian doubles player and coach Harry Hopman and attracts big crowds. The United States have won it more times than any other country and have also been beaten finalists on six occasions, including in two of the last three years. Australia have won it twice, the last time in 2016.
Jack Sock and Coco Vandeweghe wil be hoping to go one better than last year for the United States but will have to face Roger Federer and Switzerland in their group. Federer is the start attraction in Perth as he begins his build-up towards the Australian Open but plays with the little-known Belinda Becic and they may struggle to progress. Russia and Japan are also in Group B but this is a section that the USA should negotiate.
Daria Gavrilova was a winner with Nick Kyrgios for Australia in 2016 but is partnered this time by Thanasi Kokkinakis and they have a tough draw as Germany, Canada and Belgium all look strong contenders. David Goffin and Elise Martens look a particularly potent combination for the Belgians, who are a tempting 11/8 with Titanbet to win their opening match against Germany.
