Roger Federer Beats Serena Williams in Mixed Doubles at 2018 Hopman Cup

The battle between perhaps the two greatest tennis stars the sport has ever known has gone to Roger Federer.

The Switzerland team of Federer and Belinda Bencic earned a 4-2, 4-3 (3) win over Americans Serena Williams and Frances Tiafoe in a mixed doubles match Tuesday at the Hopman Cup.

“It was so fun. This is super cool that we get to do it at such a pinnacle point of our careers,” Williams told reporters after the match. “This guy is great, both off the court and on the court. I think his serve is super-underestimated. It’s a killer serve, you can’t read it. I watched him all the time and I never knew how amazing it was.”

It was the first matchup between Federer and Williams, perhaps the greatest players of this generation. The match, played in a Fast4 format, drew a crowd of 14,000 in Perth, Australia. 

“I was nervous returning. People talk about her serve so much and I see why it is such a wonderful serve because you just can’t read it,” Federer said.

Federer and Williams were both victorious in their singles matches. Federer pulled out a 6-4, 6-1 win over Tiafoe. Williams earned a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 triumph over Bencic, putting their respective countries' fate in the hands of the mixed doubles matchup.

The United States' loss eliminates them from championship competition after previously losing to Greece. 

Switzerland would make it to the finals with a win over Greece on Thursday.