Hopman Cup 2016: Thursday Tennis Scores, Results and Updated Schedule
Ukraine secured their spot in the final of the Hopman Cup on Thursday, as they beat Australia Gold 2-1 in Perth, Australia.
The pairing of Elina Svitolina and Alexandr Dolgopolov had been too much for the well-backed Jarmila Wolfe and veteran player Lleyton Hewitt, winning both of their singles matches, thus rendering the final mixed doubles clash irrelevant.
The day’s other fixture sees the United States taking on the Czech Republic. Wins for Jack Sock and Karolina Pliskova saw the match poised precariously at 1-1, and the Americans pulled through to take the doubles and grab their first win of the tournament.
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Here’s a look at the scores from the day’s play and a recap of some of the standout moments.
| Elina Svitolina (UKR) bt. Jarmila Wolfe (AUS) | 6-3, 6-3 |
| Alexandr Dolgopolov (UKR) bt. Lleyton Hewitt (AUS) | 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 |
| Lleyton Hewitt & Jarmila Wolfe (AUS) bt. Alexandr Dolgopolov & Elina Svitolina (UKR) | 6-3, 5-7, 10-5 |
| Jack Sock (USA) bt. Jiri Vesely (CZE) | 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (3) |
| Karolina Pliskova (CZE) bt. Victoria Duval (USA) | 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 |
| Jack Sock & Victoria Duval (USA) vs. Jiri Vesely & Karolina Pliskova (CZE) | 7-6 (5), 4-6, 10-7 |
| Nick Kyrgios | Kenny de Schepper | |
| Daria Gavrilova | Caroline Garcia | |
| Andy Murray | Alexander Zverev | |
| Heather Watson | Sabine Lisicki |
Ukraine Book Final Spot
With a place in the final up for grabs for the Ukrainian duo of Svitolina and Dolgopolov, a strong start to this clash with Australia was critical. And to their credit, despite a home crowd backing Hewitt and Wolfe, they preserved the form that has seen them win their previous two Hopman Cup ties.
Svitolina set the tone with a strong display against Wolfe. The 21-year-old prospect always seemed to have an edge in the match, and when she took the first set 6-3, there didn’t seem to be much the Aussie could do to get back into this one.
And as she has done in all of her singles matches at this tournament, Svitolina drilled home that advantage, taking the second stanza by the same scoreline. As noted by the tournament’s official Twitter feed, the youngster has been in brilliant form at the Hopman Cup:
It meant the onus was on Hewitt to prevent Dolgopolov from building up an unassailable lead, and after taking the first set 6-4, there seemed to be a decent chance of the former world No. 1 rolling back the years.
Dolgopolov seemed the fitter of the two as the match went on, though, with the Ukrainian taking the second set 6-3. In the decider, the Aussie, as he so often does, put every sinew into trying to get back into the match, chasing down everything and getting plenty of balls back into play. But Dolgopolov seemed comfortable with the pace and eventually won the decider 6-4.
The mixed doubles was played despite it meaning little in the grand scheme of the competition. Hewitt, playing in his final Hopman Cup before retiring, helped Australia Gold to a win in that one and admitted afterward he was pleased with his efforts:
The win for Ukraine, their third from three in Group A, meant the second tie of the day between the United States and the Czech Republic was for the minor places in the standings. But there was little let up from the players involved, as we were treated to some wonderful matches.
The first saw the United States’ star man, Sock, stage a brilliant fightback to get the better of Jiri Vesely, winning a deciding tiebreak in the third set to triumph 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (3). As we can see here, Sock had a familiar face cheering him on in the stands in Nick Kyrgios:
Next it was the Czech’s turn to stage a fightback, as Pliskova recovered from a set down against Vicky Duval to level the match up, winning 4-6, 6-1, 6-4.
Sock and Duval had yet to win their first match of the tournament, and the American duo put it all on the line in the mixed doubles. After winning the tie-break to take the lead, the Czechs hit back in the second set, and the third turned into a bit of a roller-coaster ride, with both sides trading shots.
Some strong serving from Duval eventually saw the Americans walk away with the win, ending their tournament on a high note.
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