Hopman Cup 2016: Sunday Tennis Scores, Results and Updated Schedule
Australia Green and the Czech Republic got their 2016 Hopman Cup campaigns off to a winning start, as both teams didn't drop a single match during Sunday's round-robin action.
Germany had no answer for Australia Green, as Daria Gavrilova and Nick Kyrgios powered their way past Sabine Lisicki and Alexander Zverev. The home fans in Perth were buzzing, but Australia Gold couldn't put together a similar performance, with Lleyton Hewitt and Jarmila Wolfe losing to Jiri Vesely and Karolina Pliskova.
Here's a look at the full results from Sunday:
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| Daria Gavrilova (AUS) | 6-2, 6-2 | Sabine Lisicki (GER) |
| Nick Kyrgios (AUS) | 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 | Alexander Zverev (GER) |
| Gavrilova/Kyrgios | 6-3, 4-6, 10-7 | Lisicki/Zverev |
| Jiri Vesely (CZE) | 6-3, 6-7(1) ,6-4 | Lleyton Hewitt (AUS) |
| Karolina Pliskova (CZE) | 7-5, 6-3 | Jarmila Wolfe (AUS) |
| Pliskova/Vesely | 6-2, 7-5 | Wolfe/Hewitt |
The upcoming schedule:
| Monday, Jan. 4 | Ukraine vs. USA |
| Monday, Jan. 4 | Great Britain vs. France |
| Tuesday, Jan. 5 | Czech Republic vs. Ukraine |
| Tuesday, Jan. 5 | Australia Gold vs. USA |
| Wednesday, Jan 6. | France vs. Germany |
| Wednesday, Jan 6. | Australia Green vs. Great Britain |
Recap
Veteran Hewitt gave it all he had in the first match of his final Hopman Cup appearance, but young powerhouse Vesely wasn't in a sentimental mood, surviving a strong challenge from the Australian to win in three sets.
Vesely's serve made the difference in the first set, which lasted only 34 minutes, and while Hewitt did well to turn the match into more of a baseline battle in the second, he always appeared to be on the back foot against the Czech.
The third set played out in similar fashion to the first, and before long, the Czech Republic held a 1-0 lead.
Pliskova entered her singles match as a big favourite over Wolfe and held up her end of the deal, despite a shaky first set, to hand the team an unassailable 2-0 lead and their first win of the Hopman Cup.
Per Jose Morgado of Record, the match between Pliskova and Wolfe turned into a real service battle:
Pliskova plays with incredible power, something she underlined in the mixed doubles by closing out one service game in just 48 seconds. Wolfe and Hewitt were blasted off the court in the first set, and while they managed to keep the second close, they couldn't win another set, losing their opening match 3-0.
Australia Green fared better on Sunday, however. Gavrilova and Kyrgios powered their way past the German duo of Lisicki and Zverev, dropping just one set in the singles before serving up an epic performance in the mixed doubles.
Per the tournament's official Twitter account, Kyrgios sounded determined to make a strong impression:
""#AustraliaGreen are on a MISSION," says Kyrgios as he marches into press. They're our first #HopmanCup winners pic.twitter.com/hlm6G4Slwv
— Hopman Cup (@hopmancup) January 3, 2016"
Gavrilova needed a little over an hour to beat Lisicki in her Hopman Cup debut, dropping just four games along the way, and while Kyrgios made a bit of a false start in his first match, dropping the opening set against Zverev, he soon found his rhythm and looks to be in solid form ahead of his next match against Andy Murray.
The mixed doubles produced by far the most exciting match of the first day of the Hopman Cup, as Australia Green completed the sweep by winning 6-4, 3-6, 10-7.
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