Hopman Cup winners and losers.

Simone Lisicki & Nicolas Kiefer of Germany.

AUSTRALIA’S quest for a second Hopman Cup title will have to wait another year after a marathon 2-1 loss to the Slovak Republic early today.

 

 

Lleyton Hewitt continued his winning ways with a 7-6 (7-4) 6-7 (7-1) 6-4 triumph over Dominik Hrbaty but Casey Dellacqua lost her second match in as many days when world No.19 Dominika Cibulkova cruised to a 7-5 6-2 win in 84 minutes.

Australia, who lost 2-1 to Germany on Monday, needed to beat the Slovak Republic in the mixed doubles to win the tie and stay in the hunt for Friday’s final.

But a weary Hewitt and a luckless Dellacqua couldn’t muster the win, with Hrbaty and Cibulkova running out 6-7 (7-5) 6-3 7-6 (10-4 in match tiebreak) winners in a match that didn’t finish until 3.35am Melbourne time.

Slovak Republic, who beat the top-seeded US on Monday, can guarantee a spot in the final if they can defeat Germany in their final Group A encounter.

Earlier on Tuesday, Italy defeated France 2-1 in the group B tie.

Alize Cornet disposed of Flavia Pennetta 7-5 6-2 but Simone Bolelli kept Italy in the tie when he upset world No.6 Frenchman Gilles Simon 6-3 6-3.

Bolelli then combined with Pennetta to win the mixed doubles 6-4 7-6 (7-2).

The 2009 Hopman Cup.

 

There are so many tennis events scheduled for January 2009 that it is hard to keep track of them all, and difficult to figure out who is playing where. Each year a select group heads to Western Australia’s capital of Perth to participate in the Hopman Cup. It is the official mixed doubles team championship of the ITF, and is named after the celebrated Aussie coach Harold Hopman. Hyundai Corp. is the event sponsor and this is the event’s 21^st. year of competition. The format is for 8 teams divided into 2 groups, that will play a round robin, the winners from each group will meet in the final on Jan. 9^th.

 

Group A.

USA.            Serena Williams & James Blake.

Australia.    Casey Dellacqua & Lleyton Hewitt.

Germany.    Sabine Lisicki & Nicolas Kiefer.

Slovak Rep. Dominika Cibulkova & Dominic Hrbaty.

 

Group B.

Russia.       Dinara Safina & Marat Safin.

France.       Alize Cornet & Giles Simon.

Italy.          Flavia Pennetta & Simone Bolleli

Taipei.       Su-Wei Hsieh & Yen-Hsun Lu.

 

This will be the return to active competition for Aussie favourite Lleyton Hewitt who has been out with an injury since August. Both Serena and James Blake are former champions of the event though not with each other as playing partners. The brother and sister act of Dinara and Marat pose a threat and are favoured to win Group B and meet the USA in the final. The team from Chinese Taipei were the winners of the Asian Hopman Cup that was played in November. All these players will head to Melbourne for the Australian Open at the completion of this tournament.

Keeping score in Tennis? It’s Love All!

 

It must be difficult to find true love if you have to contend with being young, rich, famous, good-looking and overflowing with personality……but some of us manage to cope!

The wedding bells will be sounding soon for Andy Roddick, Mardy Fish and Radek Stepanek, and the rumour mill is in overdrive with some of the other WTA and ATP players. Maybe there is something in the air in Serbia besides tennis. Ana is in Argentine to watch her friend Fernando play for Spain, Jelena is relaxing on the beach in the Maldives, and Dominika is only a stone’s throw away on a tropical island. It’s true that money may not be able to buy happiness, but it certainly helps.

 

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Teenagers to watch out for in 2009.

Caroline Wozniacki is from Denmark, the only Danish player in the top 400, and she ended 2008 as the 12^th. ranked player. Born in July 1990 she was the recipient of the family’s athletic genes, and almost destined to excel at sports. Her Mum was a member of the Polish National Volleyball team, while Dad was a professional soccer player. When Dad was traded from Germany to Denmark, the family went along and stayed. Caroline’s brother Patrick now plays soccer for BK Frem in Copenhagen. She was an outstanding Junior player winning the 2006 Junior Wimbledon Championship, and the 2005 Orange Bowl title. She has won 3 times since turning pro in 2006 in Stockholm, Tokyo, and New Haven Connecticut. She is a player who possesses a variety of styles, she’s an excellent server and likes to serve and volley. Her baseline game is strong, and she hits the ball with power and accuracy on either side. With another season ahead of her, she will gain both confidence and maturity, and she will finish in the top ten.

  Caroline                                                                         Alize

 

Alize Cornet is from Nice, France. She was born in January 1990, and after winning the 2007 Junior Championship at Roland Garros, she turned pro and joined the WTA. She has one singles title in Budapest, and she teamed up with Janette Huserova to win the doubles title at the same tournament. She must have had her Wheaties that week! She has had some notable victories during the 2008 season, and much is expected from her in the 2009 season. If she can stay free from injuries she could easily make her way into the top ten.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dominika Cubulkova was born in May 1989 in Czechoslovakia, and has represented the Slovak Republic 4 times in the Fed Cup where she has compiled a 5-9 win/loss record in both singles and doubles. She has won 2 ITF titles in Amaranto Portugal, and Bratislava Slovakia. She has been runner-up twice on the WTA tour, losing to Maria Sharapova in Amelia Island in April, and to Elena Dementieva in Montreal in August. In 2208 she recorded victories over several top 10 players including Ivanovic, Jankovic, Dementieva and Venus Williams. She is a solid player who with a little more experience will be a threat in every event she enters.