Tennis Atlantic

Spaniards Take Hopman Cup

It took the withdrawal of John Isner for them to guarantee a spot in the final, but team Spain made the most of it in triumphing at the Hopman Cup 2-1 over team Serbia. After a loss by Fernando Verdasco to Novak Djokovic, the Spaniards mounted a comeback with a win by Annabel Medina-Garrigues over Ana Ivanovic and a win in the mixed doubles over Djokovic/Ivanovic to take the title.

In the group stage, the Spaniards were led by Medina-Garrigues and the combined doubles prowess of Verdasco and AMG scoring 2-1 wins over South Africa and France. Verdasco lost both his singles matches. Isner withdrew with knee tendinitis and was surprisingly replaced by 16 year old Aussie practice partner for the week Thanasi Kokkinakis, a talented junior player.

Due to Hopman Cup nationality rules, the USA was forced to concede the match up with Spain before it started, because Kokkinakis is Australian, not American, but that being said, he actually did very well giving the odd circumstances, losing 6-7, 3-6 against veteran tour pro Verdasco and staying competitive in the mixed doubles match with Williams. Spain made it to the final with a perfect 3-0 record.

Serbia also notched a perfect 3-0 record in the group stage with Ivanovic posting a 3-0 record in her singles matches and Novak Djokovic posting a 2-1 record in his singles matches and the duo finished 2-1 in the mixed doubles.

Italy and South Africa finished 3rd in their respective groups with a 1-2 record and Germany and France brought up the rear with no wins in their national match-ups.

In other notable news, Germany’s Andrea Petkovic, sadly suffered yet another injury in her first Hopman Cup match. This time, it’s a torn meniscus in her right knee and surgery will keep her off the tour another 2 months. She was replaced in the Hopman Cup by Tatjana Malek.

—S. Kirby