Kerber/zverev reach hopman cup final
Angelique kerber and alexander zverev have a chance for a final revenge against switzerland at the hopman cup.
The german tennis duo also won the decisive preliminary round match against australia 2-1 in perth and will meet top star roger federer and belinda bencic on saturday. For the second time in a row, kerber and zverev will play for the first german title since 1995 at the unofficial mixed world championships. 24 years ago boris becker and anke huber celebrated success at the hopman cup.
"It’s nice to be in the final again. We lost narrowly last year, and we definitely wanted to get back there," said zverev. ATP finalist winner and wimbledon champion kerber are still unbeaten in their singles this week, ending early the hosts’ hopes of reaching the final match. "We get a second chance, maybe this time we can win the title," kerber said.
Only in the mixed, which was characterized by spab and entertainment, the germans lost 0:4, 3:4 (1:5). Kerber had earlier secured an important lead in the first match with a 6-4, 6-4 win over ashleigh barty. The left-hander did not have to surrender a service game of her own against the world number 15, to whom she had lost last time out. In addition, the world number two from kiel also benefited from barty’s mistakes at crucial moments. "It’s tricky against players like her," kerber said. "I tried to play aggressively and serve well. I think that was the key."
At 5:3 in the second set, the german sportswoman of the year 2018 still loves a match point unused. She won her following match to nil – and in the winner’s interview, she smilingly revealed one of zverev’s weak points: for the new year, she would like the 21-year-old to be more punctual, she said: "i always wait for sascha."
The hamburger waved off a smile when asked about his scoring after his commanding 6-4, 6-3 win over matthew ebden. On the court, however, kerber was able to rely on the world number four in the third group match as well. Zverev fulfilled his compulsory task without any problems and, like kerber, can also gain confidence for the australian open in melbourne from his performances so far. The first grand slam tournament of the season goes on 14. January goes and pays for both more than the hopman cup.
In perth, the german team also met switzerland in the final a year ago, when only kerber had the upper hand against bencic. Zverev won the last meeting with federer in november at the ATP finals in london. "Angie shouldn’t do much different," said zverev. He said he wanted to do better this time.
German women’s tennis boss barbara rittner expects kerber and zverev to win close singles matches. "That we have the revenge from last year is like a painting," said the long-serving fed cup teachefin at a tennis congress in berlin.
