Hopman Cup: Roger Federer and Belinda Bencic lose but secure the final spot
After a tight match between Roger Federer and Stefanos Tsitsipas that the Swiss won in two tie breaks, Maria Sakkari leveled the overall score following a 6-3, 6-4 win over Belinda Bencic in an hour and 14 minutes to keep Greece in contention for the triumph. Sakkari played better on both the first and second serve, suffering just one break of serve and winning 40% of the return points to keep the pressure on Belinda, breaking her three times to wrap up the win in straight sets. It was a solid start of the match for both teams and it was Maria who drew first blood in the sixth game following a costly double fault from Belinda.
The Swiss could have broken back in the ninth game after a backhand down the line winner but Sakkari fends the break point off with a good forehand, hitting a service winner to secure the opener in 33 minutes. They traded breaks in the third and fourth games of the second set and stayed neck and neck before Bencic netted a backhand in game nine to suffer a break, allowing her rival to cement the triumph with a service winner in game 10 that shifted the attention to the deciding mixed doubles match. There, Sakkari and Tsitsipas scored a tight 4-3, 2-4, 4-3 win over Bencic and Federer in an hour and seven minutes to become the first team who toppled the Swiss since they lost to France in 2017!
All four players made good holds in the opening set to set up a tie break where the Swiss squad moved 4-2 up after a service winner from Roger. Fighting until the end, Maria and Stefanos won three points in a row to steal the breaker 5-4 and the opening set, moving a set away from a great win. Still, Stefanos was broken in the fifth game of the second set when his forehand finished in the net and Federer held at love a few minutes later to deliver the set for the Swiss and set up the decider that would determine the winner.
Tsitsipas saved a break point in the first game with a great second serve and they all settled into a nice rhythm on serve after that, with Roger saving two match points on serve in the sixth game to set up another tie break. From 3-1 up, Federer and Belinda lost four points in a row to hand the win to their rivals who tamed two Roger's serve in the final two points to cross the finish line and celebrate a huge win on their Hopman Cup debut.
Switzerland vs Greece 2-1
Maria Sakkari (GRE) vs Belinda Bencic (SUI) 6-3 6-4 Maria Sakkari (GRE) / Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE) vs Belinda Bencic / Roger Federer (SUI) 4-3(5-4) 2-4 4-3(5-3)
from Tennis World USA http://bit.ly/2Qmf9tN
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