Hopman Cup 2019: Great Britain, Australia Win in Saturday Matches

Hosts Australia got their 2019 Hopman Cup campaign off to an ideal start on Saturday, as Ashleigh Barty and Matt Ebden led them to a 2-1 victory over France.

Earlier in the day, Great Britain were able to get the better of Greece 2-1 in their match, with Cameron Norrie springing an upset against Stefanos Tsitsipas in the men's singles.

Here are the results from Saturday's clashes in Perth, the schedule for Sunday and a recap of the best of the action from Day 1 of this unique competition.

Saturday Results

Great Britain 2-1 Greece

Cameron Norrie (GBR) bt. Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE), 7-6(8), 6-4

Maria Sakkari (GRE) bt. Katie Boulter (GBR), 6-0, 4-6, 6-2

Boulter/Norrie (GBR) bt. Sakkari/Tsitsipas (GRE), 4-3(0), 3-4(2), 4-3(4)

Australia 2-1 France

Ashleigh Barty (AUS) bt. Alize Cornet (FRA) 7-5, 6-3

Matt Ebden (AUS) bt. Lucas Pouille (FRA) 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-2

Cornet/Pouille (FRA) bt. Barty/Ebden (AUS) 4-3(4), 4-2

Sunday Schedule

Germany vs. Spain

Great Britain vs. Switzerland

The first day of the 2019 Hopman Cup got off to a bang, as Great Britain star Norrie was able to pull off a major upset against Tsitsipas.

Following an impressive 2018, Tsitsipas sits in 15th in the ATP rankings, and at 20 years old, he is considered one of the best prospects in the men's game. However, he came up against a determined opponent in Norrie, who is ranked 91st in the world.

After a tight opener, it was the Briton who edged the tiebreak, giving himself a foothold in the contest. In the second stanza, both men struggled on serve, although Norrie eventually did enough to clinch the match, breaking the Greek at 5-4.

Having watched his team-mate Boulter lose her match, Norrie combined with her to great effect in the deicing doubles, with Norrie preserving the momentum from his win to play some wonderful stuff:

Following on from that intriguing start in the afternoon, it was the turn of host nation Australia, and Barty got them off to a flier, storming past Alize Cornet 7-5, 6-3.

In the crucial second match, France appeared poised to level things up when Lucas Pouille took control of the opening set against Ebden. However, the home player was able to settle down in the second set.

He took it in a tiebreaker, seizing his fourth set point. From that point on, Ebden was too good for a weary Pouille, allowing Australia to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the match. 

This was one of the standout shots the home player produced in his big win:

More high-profile names will take to the court on Sunday as the competition begins to hot up. For Germany, defending French Open and Wimbledon champion Angelique Kerber teams up with ATP Tour Finals champion Alexander Zverev; they meet Spanish duo Garbine Muguruza and David Ferrer.

Fans will also get their first glimpse of Roger Federer in competitive action, as he and Belinda Bencic seek to defend the trophy they won a year ago.