Serena, Tiafoe to Pair up for Hopman Cup

Thursday, 4 October 2018, 5:06 am Zubin Daver

Serena Williams has been upset a couple of times

USA will be represented by Serena Williams and Frances Tiafoe in the 2019 edition of the Hopman Cup. This is also be the first tournament that Williams will play in 2019.

With Roger Federer also expected to feature in the Hopman Cup for Switzerland, the chances of a Federer-Williams match-up look on course.

The last time that Serena featured in the Hopman Cup was in 2016 but she suffered an early exit because of an injury. She hasn’t played in the last two seasons but Federer’s Switzerland has gone places in the meantime. In 2017, Switzerland managed to make it in the final but went down to France before going one better by winning the title in 2018.

In a media release, Williams said she looked forward to playing in Western Australia and loved the crowds at Perth Arena. She added she appreciated the Australian supporters who have been warm towards her.

Williams said of her partner, Tiafoe:

“I haven’t played with Frances in mixed doubles before, but have watched him from afar this year. He has a very bright future and I’m looking forward to being on court with him, it will be a lot of fun.”

Tiafoe, who will be making his Hopman Cup debut said he had good things about the tournament. He said the biggest advantage of playing in the Hopman Cup was despite being competitive, the atmosphere in Perth is quite relaxed.

He added:

“Everyone feels right at home to start the year. So I’m pretty excited for it. I’m extremely nervous to play with Serena, a complete legend. But I’m sure it’ll be fine. We’ll have a good time and hopefully get some wins.”

USA will be up against Switzerland on January 1, as they go up against Roger Federer and Belinda Bencic.

Hosts Australia will be represented by Matthew Ebden and Ashleigh Barty, 2017 winners will have Lucas Pouille and Alize Cornet, Alexander Zverev and Angelique Kerber will feature for Germany, Great Britain will have Cameron Norrie and Katie Boulter, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Maria Sakkari will represent Greece and Spain will be represented by David Ferrer and Garbine Muguruza.

About Zubin Daver 146 Articles

Zubin, a content head of a digital agency, is an avid sports fan who spends most of his days following sports. He is addicted to LFC so much so, people around him have begun hunting for Football Anonymous Groups for him to join. He's been covering sports like Tennis, Cricket and Football since 2010 with the aim of converting his passion into his livelihood. He took to tennis because of Roger Federer and is unsure of post-retirement plans. Federer's that is.