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Hopman Cup: 3-9 Jan 2009, Perth, Australia

9K views 65 replies 31 participants last post by  Labamba 
#1 ·
Until we get a forum for this later on, I will just post articles here. I received this one today, and am very excited about it:

Superstar Siblings for Hyundai Hopman Cup
21st July 2008

PERTH. Sensational news for tennis fans as it was today announced that former World Number 1 Marat Safin and his sister Dinara Safina will join Australia’s Lleyton Hewitt and Casey Dellacqua at the 2009 Hyundai Hopman Cup in Perth. It will be the first time that the Russian superstar siblings will compete as a team together.

US Open, Australian Open & Davis Cup Champion, former World Number 1 and Russia’s leading male player for many years, Marat Safin is a crowd favourite. Currently ranked World Number 40 and rising he returned to form at Wimbledon where he had a career best semi-final appearance. In a tumultuous career he has delighted tennis fans all over the world and has won 15 ATP singles titles and earned over $13 million in prize money.

His younger sister 22 year old Dinara has burst into the women’s Top 10 with a fantastic run which started in Berlin where she beat 3 other Top 10 players, including former World Number 1’s Justine Henin and Serena Williams en route to victory, and culminated in the Final of the French Open where she was runner-up to current World Number 1 Ana Ivanovic. It will be her debut appearance at the Hopman Cup.

The Hyundai Hopman Cup is the Official Mixed Championship of the International Tennis Federation, and has come to be regarded as the world’s most prestigious invitational tournament.

The 21st Hyundai Hopman Cup will be played at the Burswood Dome from 3 – 9 January 2009.
 
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#3 ·
Yes, it's true:

French Bring Youth and Flair to Hopman
19th September 2008

PERTH. French star, Alize Cornet, will join talented Gilles Simon at this year’s Hyundai Hopman Cup. Cornet and Simon are currently ranked in the world’s top 20 and rising, and present as a genuine challenge to attain France’s first victory in the ITF International Mixed Teams Championship in Perth.

Alize Cornet, at only 18 years of age, is one of the young stars of women’s tennis. Ranked 18, she burst on the scene at this year’s Italian Open in Rome where she defeated three top 10 players, Serena Williams, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Anna Chakvatadze, en route to the final. Cornet also won her first WTA title in Budapest this year.

Gilles Simon, also born in Nice and ranked 17, has won 3 ATP tournaments this year, including last week in Bucharest where he defeated Carlos Moya in the final. He opened the account at Casablanca, won again at Indianapolis with wins over Haas and Tursunov, prior to Bucharest. The 23 year old also turned heads at ATP Masters Series Canada, where he defeated then world number 1 Roger Federer en route to the semi’s.

France joins Australia, represented by WA’s Casey Dellacqua and Lleyton Hewitt, and Russia with the brother/sister combination of Marat Safin and world number 5 Dinara Safina, in the eight nation field.

The Hyundai Hopman Cup is the Official Mixed Championship of the International Tennis Federation, and has come to be regarded as the world’s most prestigious invitational tournament.

The 21st Hyundai Hopman Cup will be played at the Burswood Dome from 3 – 9 January 2009.
 
#5 ·
:zzz:

Top Germans for Hopman
2nd October 2008

PERTH. Rising German tennis star, 19 year old Sabine Lisicki, will partner former world number four Nicolas Kiefer at this year’s Hyundai Hopman Cup. Germany, with its number 1 ranked man and woman, becomes the fourth team confirmed for this year’s ITF International Mixed Teams Championship.

Sabine Lisicki entered the mainstream of international tennis at this year’s Australian Open where she qualified and won two rounds, which included defeating then world number 16 Dinara Safina. A victory over Lindsay Davenport in the Fed Cup, followed by further success on the US hardcourts at Memphis, Indian Wells and Miami, cemented her rise into the leading echelons of women’s tennis. She is currently ranked 64.

Nicolas Kiefer, a tour veteran and 2006 Australian Open Semi-Finalist had an incredible run at the recent Canadian Masters Series defeating two top ten players (Blake and Davydenko) along with Frenchman Gilles Simon and last year’s Hopman Champion Mardy Fish, en route to a final showdown with world number 1 Rafael Nadal and a top 20 ranking. He is currently ranked 25.

Germany joins France, with top 20 players Alize Cornet and Gilles Simon, Australia, represented by WA’s Casey Dellacqua and Lleyton Hewitt, and Russia with the brother/sister combination of Marat Safin and world number 3 Dinara Safina, in the eight nation field.

The Hyundai Hopman Cup is the Official Mixed Championship of the International Tennis Federation, and has come to be regarded as the world’s most prestigious invitational tournament.

The 21st Hyundai Hopman Cup will be played at the Burswood Dome from 3 – 9 January 2009.
 
#6 ·
TOP 20 Slovak Star for HOPMAN
16th October 2008

PERTH. World number 20 Dominika Cibulkova will partner Hopman XVII Champion Dominik Hrbaty at this year’s Hyundai Hopman Cup. Slovak Republic, a two time Hopman Champion, becomes the fifth team confirmed for this year’s ITF International Mixed Teams Championship.

19 year old Dominika Cibulkova has powered through the top 100 this year in her second full year on the WTA Tour starting at the Gold Coast where she won two rounds, which she followed up by qualifying in Sydney before progressing to Doha where she had wins over Lucie Safarova, Patty Schnyder and Venus Williams on her way to the quarter finals. Further success in Miami and an impressive run at Amelia Island with victories over Alize Cornet, Amelie Mauresmo, Anna Chakvetadze and Victoria Azarenka saw her in her first Tier II final. She then skyrocketed into the Top 20 with another runner up performance this time at the Tier I Canadian Open in Montreal with victories over Elena Dementieva, Nadia Petrova, world number one Jelena Jankovic, before losing to Dinara Safina. A new Slovak star was born.

Dominik Hrbaty is a Hopman veteran and is heading back to Perth in his run to retirement. He contacted Tournament Director Paul McNamee earlier in the year and advised him that he would love to come back and play in Perth with an exciting youngster Dominika Cibulkova. A crowd favourite and former world number 12, Hrbaty won Hopman XVII with Daniela Hantuchova. It will be his fourth appearance at the Hyundai Hopman Cup.

The Slovak Republic joins Germany’s Sabine Lisicki and Nicolas Kiefer, France, with top 20 players Alize Cornet and Gilles Simon, Australia, represented by WA’s Casey Dellacqua and Lleyton Hewitt, and Russia with the brother/sister combination of Marat Safin and world number 3 Dinara Safina, in the eight nation field.

The Hyundai Hopman Cup is the Official Mixed Teams Championship of the International Tennis Federation, and has come to be regarded as the world’s most prestigious invitational tournament.

The 21st Hyundai Hopman Cup will be played at Burswood Dome from 3 – 9 January 2009.
 
#20 ·
if Hewitt pulls out, i hope Luczak can replace him. Teaming with Casey will be an interesting combo imo.
Also like to see Russia and Taiwan.
 
#9 ·
Good Weekend for HOPMAN Stars as ITALY Join Field
24th October 2008

PERTH. Italy’s Zurich Open finalist Flavia Pennetta will partner Simone Bolelli for Italy at this year’s Hyundai Hopman Cup. Gilles Simon, who will represent France, had the best week of his career when he defeated world number one, Rafael Nadal, to reach the final of the Madrid Masters Series. He now has victories over the number one (Nadal), two (Federer) and three (Djokovic) ranked players in the world this year along with three ATP titles stamping himself as a new star on the ATP Tour as he enters the top 10 and becomes France’s highest ranked male player!

Italian number one and world number 14 Flavia Pennetta yesterday reached the final in Zurich where she played Venus Williams for her third WTA title of the year after victories in Vina del Mar and Acapulco (where she defeated Simon’s partner Cornet). This, along with a runner-up performance in Los Angeles (lost to Dinara Safina) and a quarter final appearance at the US Open, has seen her rise to the rankings and this week she also had a victory over world number one Jelena Jankovic to cement her place on the world stage.

Pennetta is joined by Italian teammate Simone Bolelli currently ranked 43 on the ATP rankings. He is having his best year on the international scene after breaking into the top 100 for the first time since 2007. During 2008 he represented Italy in World Team Cup, Davis Cup and at the Olympics and had victories over Juan Del Potro, Marcos Baghdatis, Mario Cilic, Nicolas Kiefer and Gilles Simon. He reached the semi-finals in Wroclaw and the final in Munich.

The Hyundai Hopman Cup is the Official Mixed Championship of the International Tennis Federation, and has come to be regarded as the world’s most prestigious invitational tournament.

Hyundai Hopman Cup XXI teams previously announced:

Australia: Casey Dellacqua and Lleyton Hewitt
France: Alize Cornet and Gilles Simon
Germany: Sabine Lisicki and Nicolas Kiefer
Italy: Flavia Pennetta and Simone Bolelli
Slovak Republic: Dominika Cibulkova and Dominik Hrbaty
Russia: Dinara Safina and Marat Safin

The 21st Hyundai Hopman Cup will be played at the Burswood Dome from 3 – 9 January 2009.


>> So I guess now that's pretty much finalised, cos the other 2 teams will be USA and an Asian team. Apart from Russia and France, I'm not interested lol
 
#12 ·
Other than the Russian team, that is a horrible field!
 
#13 ·
Resurgent SERENA Heads for Hyundai HOPMAN CUP
28th October 2008

PERTH. USA, represented by US Open winner Serena Williams and another two time Hopman Cup Champion James Blake will be the top seeds for this year’s Hyundai Hopman Cup. The Russian brother/sister combination of world number 2 Dinara Safina and dual Grand Slam Champion Marat Safin will fill the number 2 position and be seeded to meet USA in the Final.

USA, the most successful nation in the 20-year history of the Hopman Cup having been victorious five times, is the last team to be confirmed.

France, with Gilles Simon (world ranking 10) and Alize Cornet (world ranking 18) have risen through the rankings to become the third seed and Australia with former world number 1 Lleyton Hewitt and Western Australia’s Casey Dellacqua, will fill the fourth position.

Tournament Director Paul McNamee said “Serena’s return to number 1 was one of the biggest sports stories of the year. There’ll be a lot of interest in Serena, but equally as much in Lleyton Hewitt’s tournament comeback. It’ll be a big week.”

Serena Williams, the nine-time Grand Slam winner and dual Olympic Gold Medallist, capped off a sensational return to the top of the women’s game with an emphatic performance at the recent US Open in New York. She completed the tournament without losing a set, culminating in victory over then world number 2 Jelena Jankovic and gaining back the world number 1 ranking after a six year lapse.

Serena Williams is a two time Champion at the Hyundai Hopman Cup. She won Hopman XX partnering Mardy Fish and Hopman XV with James Blake. Serena has an impressive 100% win loss record at the Hopman Cup – having never lost a match. This will be her third appearance in Perth. Her partner James Blake has been just as successful winning with Williams and also with Lindsay Davenport the following year.

James Blake has spent the last few years ensconced in the world’s top 10 with a career high ranking of 4. He currently sits at 10 on the race and 11 in the rankings as he chases a spot in the year-end Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai. The highlight of his year was undoubtedly the Beijing Olympic Games where he defeated Roger Federer in the quarterfinals. He is one of the most popular players in Perth having first participated in Hopman XII as a 19 year old Harvard student on the threshold of his professional career.

The Hyundai Hopman Cup XXI Teams in seeded order are:

(1) USA: Serena Williams and James Blake
(2) Russia: Dinara Safina and Marat Safin
(3) France: Alize Cornet and Gilles Simon
(4) Australia: Casey Dellacqua and Lleyton Hewitt
(5) Italy: Flavia Pennetta and Simone Bolelli
(6) Germany: Sabine Lisicki and Nicolas Kiefer
(7) Slovak Republic: Dominika Cibulkova and Dominik Hrbaty
(8) Winner Asian Hopman Cup

The Hyundai Hopman Cup is the Official Mixed Teams Championship of the International Tennis Federation, and has come to be regarded as the world’s most prestigious invitational tournament. It is a round robin, consisting of two groups of four teams where all teams play each other once with the winners of each group progressing to the Final.

The Asian Hopman Cup will be played November 12-15 in Kazakhstan.

The 21st Hyundai Hopman Cup will be played at the Burswood Dome from 3 – 9 January 2009. It will be televised on ABC and Fox Sports.
 
#19 ·
Chinese Taipei won Asian Hopman Cup and qualified for HOPMAN CUP XXI


ASIAN HOPMAN CUP - qualifying for HOPMAN CUP XXI
Venue: National Tennis Centre Astana, Kazakhstan
Date: November 12-15, 2008
6 Teams
Surface: Hard Indoor


Day 1: Wednesday, November 12, 2008 at 14:00 local time

Group A - court No. 2
(1)Chinese Taipei d. India 3-0
Su-Wei Hsieh (TPE) d. Shikha Uberoi (IND) 6-4 6-4
Yen-Hsun Lu (TPE) d. Vishnu Vardhan (IND) 7-6(2) 6-1
Su-Wei Hsieh/Yen-Hsun Lu (TPE) d. Shikha Uberoi/Vishnu Vardhan (IND) 6-0 6-2

Group B - center court
(2)Kazakhstan d. China 3-0
Andrei Goloubev (KAZ) d. Zhe Li (CHN) 6-2 6-4
Yaroslava Shvedova (KAZ) d. Yi-Miao Zhou (CHN) 6-3 6-4
Yaroslava Shvedova/Andrei Goloubev (KAZ) d. Yi-Miao Zhou/Zhe Li (CHN) 6-4 1-6 (10-7)


Day 2: Thursday, November 13, 2008 at 13:00 and 14:00 local time

Group A
(1)Chinese Taipei d. (4)Korea 3-0
Su Wei Hsieh (TPE) d. Yee Kyung Chae (KOR) 6-0 7-6(5)
Yen-Hsun Lu (TPE) d. Woong-Sun Jun (KOR) 4-6 7-6(1) 6-3
Su-Wei Hsieh/Yen-Hsun Lu (TPE) d. Yee Kyung Chae/Woong-Sun Jun (KOR) 6-2 6-2

Group B
(3)Thailand d. China 2-1
Tamarine Tanasugarn (THA) d. Yi-Miao Zhou (CHN) 6-2 6-3
Danai Udomchoke (THA) d. Zhe Li (CHN) 6-3 6-0
Yi-Miao Zhou/Zhe Li (CHN) d. Tamarine Tanasugarn/Danai Udomchoke (THA) 6-4 6-2


Day 3: Friday, November 14, 2008 at 13:00 and 14:00 local time

Group A
India d. (4)Korea 2-1
Shikha Uberoi (IND) d. Yee Kyung Chae (KOR) 6-1 4-4 ret.
Woong-Sun Jun (KOR) d. Vishnu Vardhan (IND) 7-6(3) 6-1
Shikha Uberoi/Vishnu Vardhan (IND) d. Yee Kyung Chae/Woong-Sun Jun (KOR) w/o

Group B
(2)Kazakhstan d. (3)Thailand 2-1
Yaroslava Shvedova (KAZ) d. Tamarine Tanasugarn (THA) 6-1 6-2
Andrei Goloubev (KAZ) d. Danai Udomchoke (THA) 7-5 7-5
Tamarine Tanasugarn/Danai Udomchoke (THA) d. Yaroslava Shvedova/Andrei Goloubev (KAZ) 6-3 3-6 (10-8)



Finals

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Chinese Taipei d. Kazakhstan 2-0
Yen-Hsun Lu (TPE) d. Andrei Goloubev (KAZ) 6-2 6-4
Su-Wei Hsieh (TPE) d. Yaroslava Shvedova (KAZ) 6-4 6-4
Su-Wei Hsieh/Yen-Hsun Lu (TPE) vs Yaroslava Shvedova/Andrei Goloubev (KAZ) not played
 
#22 ·
Brydan Klein?
that'll be interesting as well, i think this is a great platform for the youngster.
 
#23 ·
Serena Out \ Marat Safin In
8 December 2008

PERTH. US Open winner and world number 2 Serena Williams has been forced to withdraw from the Hyundai Hopman Cup. She injured her hamstring in the year ending WTA Championships and has not been able to recover in time to prepare adequately for the Perth tournament. She still intends to play the Australian Open.

However, in a boost to the tournament, mercurial Russian star Marat Safin has shelved retirement plans and recommitted to the Hopman: “I’m pleased to confirm my participation in Hopman Cup. It will be special to play with my sister, and I hope we can challenge for the Trophy”.

Tournament Director Paul McNamee said, “Although we are disappointed about Serena not being able to make it, we are delighted Marat Safin will be here. What an outstanding combination he and his sister are”.

Two time Champion James Blake will now be partnered by Meghann Shaughnessy who last year played the first Hopman match for USA, where she defeated Sania Mirza of India. Meghann, winner of six singles and 15 doubles titles on the WTA Tour has had an injury plagued year but retains a special WTA singles ranking of 50.

USA will remain the top seeds for this year’s Hyundai Hopman Cup. Blake, a two time Hopman Champion has spent the last few years ensconced in the world’s top 10 with a career high ranking of 4. He finished the year as the world number 10. The Russian brother/sister combination of world number 3 Dinara Safina and dual Grand Slam Champion Marat Safin will fill the number 2 position and be seeded to meet the USA in the Final.

USA is the most successful nation in the 20-year history of the Hopman Cup having been victorious five times.

The French team of Gilles Simon and Alize Cornet (world ranking 16) could however be the form team after Simon’s sensational run at the ATP Masters in Shanghai where he reached the semi-finals and catapulted to a year end ranking of 7. They will open the tournament against Chinese Taipei who won the recent Asian Hopman Cup to take up the final spot in the field. France are the third seeds and Australia, with former world number 1 Lleyton Hewitt and Western Australia’s Casey Dellacqua, will retain the fourth position. There will be no change to the schedule.

The Hyundai Hopman Cup XXI Teams revised field and schedule is:

Session 1
Sat 3 Jan 09
10:30am
France v Chinese Taipei

Session 2
Tennis West Family Day
Sun 4 Jan 09
10:30am
Russia v Italy

Session 3
Mon 5 Jan 09
10:30am
Australia v Germany

Session 4
Mon 5 Jan 09
6.00pm
USA v Slovak Republic

Session 5
Tue 6 Jan 09
10:30am
France v Italy

Session 6
Tue 6 Jan 09
6.00pm
Australia v Slovak Republic

Session 7
MYER Ladies Day
Wed 7 Jan 09
10:30am
USA v Germany

Session 8
Wed 7 Jan 09
6:00pm
Russia v Chinese Taipei

Session 9*
Thu 8 Jan 09
10:30am
Australia v USA (Centre Court)
Germany v Slovak Republic (Court 1)

Session 10*
Thu 8 Jan 09
6:00pm
Russia v France (Centre Court)


Italy v Chinese Taipei (Court 1)

Final
Fri 9 Jan 09
6:00pm
Winner Group A v Winner Group B


* Double header using two courts

(1) USA: Meghann Shaughnessy and James Blake
(2) Russia: Marat Safin and Dinara Safina
(3) France: Alize Cornet and Gilles Simon
(4) Australia: Casey Dellacqua and Lleyton Hewitt
(5) Italy: Simone Bolelli and Flavia Pennetta
(6) Germany: Sabine Lisicki and Nicolas Kiefer
(7) Slovak Republic: Dominika Cibulkova and Dominik Hrbaty
(8) Chinese Taipei: Su-Wei Hsieh and Yen-Hsun Lu

The Hyundai Hopman Cup is the Official Mixed Teams Championship of the International Tennis Federation, and has come to be regarded as the world’s most prestigious invitational tournament. It is a round robin tournament, consisting of two groups of four teams where all teams play each other once with the winners of each group progressing to the Final.

The 21st Hyundai Hopman Cup will be played at the Burswood Dome from 3 – 9 January 2009. It will be televised on ABC and Fox Sports.
 
#24 ·
#25 · (Edited)
Guess I should be grateful the TC is showing any of HC...but they only show us the Americans until the final where we will actually see a team from the other group.....wish they could get it through their heads that we are not so nationalistic and would love to see other teams too. Fervently hoping for a livestream.
 
#26 ·
Tapei will made lots of problems now , after asian cup
 
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