World No.2 Roger Federer will start his 2019 season in Perth at the Hopman Cup alongside compatriot Belinda Bencic.
The 20-time grand slam champion will be bidding to win the title for the second consecutive year. In January the 36-year-old won all eight of his matches on route to winning his second trophy at the mixed team event and first since since 2001. Back in 2001 Federer triumphed alongside Martina Hingis.
“I’m very excited to be coming to the Hopman Cup again in 2019 and trying to defend my title with Belinda Bencic,” said Federer.
“We had a wonderful week. I took a quokka selfie. Western Australia has treated me super well, you, the fans, have been amazing.
“Perth Arena is a wonderful place to start the new year and it’s obviously the perfect preparation for the Australian Open and it worked so well the last couple of years, I can’t wait to come back.”
The Hopman Cup is an annual mixed team event consisting of teams of two players. It has been held annually since 1989 and is currently hosted at the Perth Arena in Western Australia. This year’s event attracted a record attendance of 106,424 fans. Not counting the 5,688 fans who turned up to watch Federer’s practice session with Thanasi Kokkinakis.
“The crowds were absolutely amazing and to play at Perth Arena is what every player lives for,’ said 21-year-old Bencic.
No information has been given about Federer’s appearance fee in the tournament. Tourism minister Paul Papalia told 9 News Australia that the sum won’t be disclosed because he doesn’t want to ‘compromise’ the state’s ability to attract big names to the area.
“We can’t reveal the amount we paid, obviously, because that would compromise our ability to not only get Roger or any other serious figure in the future in a similar fashion,” Mr Papalia told reporters on Tuesday.
Zverev returns
Another high-profile name returning to the Hopman Cup next year will be Alexander Zverev. The German world No.3 finished runner-up in the 2017 final with Angelique Kerber. Kerber will also be returning to the event. Zverev have won eight ATP titles so far in his career, including three at Masters 1000 level. Meanwhile, Kerber is a two-time grand slam champion and former world No.1.
“I always like coming back to Perth for the Hopman Cup. It’s my fourth year in a row playing and I always enjoy it,” Zverev said.
Tournament director Paul Kilderry has hailed the return of the four players to the Hopman Cup next year.
“We’re very pleased to have our defending champions Roger Federer and Belinda Bencic and our finalists Angelique Kerber and Alexander Zverev returning to Perth to start 2019 with us,” said Kilderry.
“To have three top 15 players confirm their participation so early in the year just shows how much the players really enjoy the tournament and how much they love coming to Perth.
“The 2018 tournament was our best yet and we’re looking forward to seeing another successful year in 2019.”
The 2019 Hopman Cup will get underway on December 31st.
