Hopman Cup: Federer, Bencic lead Switzerland over US to enter finals
Tennis | January 04, 2018 20:24 ISTFederer was just 19 when he won the Hopman Cup in 2001 with then top-ranked Martina Hingis.
Federer was just 19 when he won the Hopman Cup in 2001 with then top-ranked Martina Hingis.
The win came before a record crowd of 13,943 at Perth Arena, an attendance which eclipsed one of Federer's matches last year in the Western Australia state capital.
The injuries threatened to end the careers of two greats towards the end of 2016, a year in which neither the Swiss great nor the Spanish giant won a Grand Slam but they came out stronger in 2017, splitting all four Majors between them.
The two stalwarts - Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal not only made a successful return after the long injury hiatus but also dominated the professional circuit just like the old times, sharing all the four majors between them.
In the past, tennis legends like Boris Becker, Stanislas Wawrinka, Carlos Moya, Marin Cilic and Rafael Nadal have competed in the tournament which has been renamed as Maharashtra Open.
The Swiss maestro, who chose to sit out the second half of 2016 in order to recover fully from his knee surgery as well as a back problem, made a stunning return in 2017 to rise No. 2 spot in the ATP Rankings.
The Swiss maestro on Saturday was shocked by Belgium's David Goffin when he came back into the match to turn it in his favour and win 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 at the O2 Arena in London.
Goffin's opponent on Sunday in the final will be Grigor Dimitrov after the Bulgarian defeated Jack Sock 4-6, 6-0, 6-3 in the second semi-final.
David Goffin becomes the first player to beat the Top 2 in the world (No. 1 Nadal, No. 2 Federer) in the year-ending ATP Finals since Nikolay Davydenko who managed to achieve the similar feat in 2009.
Jack Sock finished the group stage with a 2-1 record and will next face Grigor Dimitrov in the semifinals of the year-ending tournament on Saturday.
Federer had already advanced to the semifinals at the season-ending tournament by winning his opening two matches at the O2 Arena.
Federer is in a rich-vein of form having won seven titles this year, including the Australian Open and Wimbledon.
With Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray also absent due to injuries, the top-ranked Nadal's withdrawal on Monday left Federer as the only member of men's tennis' 'big-four' in the tournament.
The prestigious season-ending event, which Nadal has yet to conquer, has never been held on clay since its commencement in 1970.
Federer broke Sock, who was making his debut at the tournament, in the very first game, hitting a backhand winner to take the 1-0 lead.
Federer has already picked up seven titles this year and will look forward to chase his first season-ending title since 2011.
Earlier, the ATP has announced a series of rule changes and innovations for experimentation at the Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan.
The nineteen-time Grand Slam Champion will now play in the next week's ATP Tour Finals in London.
World number one Rafael Nadal, who is hoping to recover from a knee injury in time to play in the season-ending tournament, has been drawn in Boris Becker Group.
The 25-year-old American turned things around at the end of the season as he ended up earning a debut appearance at the ATP Finals, starting with a match against 19-time major champion Roger Federer on Sunday in London.
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