Hopman Cup: Federer and Bencic don't miss anything in the mixed
Switzerland duo Roger Federer and Belinda Bencic prevailed in the Mixed at the Hopman Cup in Perth 4: 3 (4) and 4: 1 against the British Cameron Norrie and Katie Boulter and made the 3: 0 overall victory perfect.
by Max Kisanyik
last edit:
Dec 30, 2018, 03:39 pm
Before the first serve it was already clear: Switzerland will go from the opening game against Great Britain after the two individual victories of Roger Federer and Belinda Bencic.
Nevertheless, the two mixed doubles did not show any nakedness and went into the game with the necessary seriousness. The spectators were offered great tennis and saw a very good Federer, who acted with a lot of clarity.
Tie break to Federer / Bencic
In the mixed the sets are only played up to four and the servants could not be disturbed by the service. The Swiss and British scored 2: 2 in the first set with wonderful points and Norrie easily turned 3: 2 after around 15 minutes of play.
Federer, too, did not allow himself to be asked, served from scratch and forced a tiebreak.
The Swiss duo fought for the 4: 3 (4) set lead.
Boulter shoots Federer - the "Maestro" laughs
As in the previous year, Federer and Bencic harmonized well and always surprised Boulter / Norrie with their wit and aggressiveness. The first service game of the second round was a matter of form for Federer and Switzerland took the lead 1-0.
Norrie then came under pressure, fended off a breakball and then benefited from a slight mistake by the "Maestros". The match developed more and more into an exhibition fight and had a few laughs ready for the audience. For example, Boulter shot a volley directly on Federer's thigh, which then cried out loudly and had to laugh heartily. Boulter apologized to the audience and showed a great sense of humor.
Boulter then dropped feathers on his own serve and gave up their serve game to the deciding 1: 3. Federer then served without problems to win the match and made it 3-0 in the overall standings.
In the next group game, Federer / Bencic meet the Americans Frances Tiafoe and Serena Williams.