Roger Federer arrives in Perth, excited about his fifth Hopman Cup
The 20-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer has landed in Perth in early hours on Thursday, ready to kick off the new season after an intense training session in Dubai where he usually works in the off-season. Roger will compete in Perth for the fifth time, making the best possible debut back in 2001 when he went all the way with Martina Hingis, securing the second title for Switzerland and the first in nine years. Last January, the Swiss maestro stood at the top again, pairing with Belinda Bencic to defeat Japan, Russia and the USA and set the final clash against Germany.
After a great fight, Roger and Belinda prevailed in the mixed doubles match to wrap up the campaign and win the title that gave Federer the confidence for the rest of the season, winning hos 20th Grand Slam crown in Melbourne just a few weeks later. A year after he won the maiden Hopman Cup crown, Roger came back with his future wife Mirka Vavrinec, losing two ties and failing to repeat the success from 12 months ago. For 15 years, Hopman Cup stayed away from Roger's schedule and that all turned in 2017 when he and Belinda arrived as the top seeds.
They defeated Great Britain and Germany (Roger and Alexander Zverev played one of the best matches in the history of the tournament) but ti wasn't to be for them, losing in the last round robin match to France and missing a chance to play in the final. In what should be the very last edition of the Hopman Cup, Roger and Belinda will kick off the tournament against Great Britain before facing the USA on January 1 and completing the group stage versus Greece. Federer will have a chance to play against Cameron Norrie, Frances Tiafoe and Stefanos Tsitsipas, the last tests before heading to Melbourne where he will defend the Australian Open crown he won in both 2017 and 2018.
from Tennis World USA http://bit.ly/2SlVoEs
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