Germany are into the Hopman Cup final for a second year in a row after Alexander Zverev cruises past Matthew Ebden 6-4 6-3.
The 21 year old was given the opportunity to seal victory for Germany after Angelique Kerber defeated Ashleigh Barty 6-4 6-4 in the first match.
It was a comfortable win for Zverev who broke his opponent’s serve three times to seal Germany’s place in the final for a second year in a row.
The duo remained undefeated in singles and will play Switzerland’s Roger Federer and Belinda Bencic in the final in a rematch of last year’s final.
It was a very good start from the ATP Finals champion who looked impressive throughout the contest as some aggressive play saw a break in the third game.
Although were some good patterns of play from Ebden, the Australian rarely threatened when receiving as Zverev’s big serve helped him dominate.
The world number four held very comfortably and it was the one break which helped him cruise to the first set in 43 minutes.
It was more of the same in the second set for the German as he broke again at the same time as he did in the first set to seal the momentum.
Although in the second set there was a lot more frustration as he felt he should have broken more times than the one in each set.
Despite the frustration though there was still some light-hearted moments from the German who was entertaining the crowd at the same time.
Don't worry folks he is okay!#HopmanCup pic.twitter.com/AeBDkxDyow
— Eurosport (@eurosport) January 4, 2019
Eventually though he did get the crucial second break in the set to seal the win and Germany’s place in tomorrow’s final.
After the match Zverev said he was pleased that him and Kerber were back in the final and are looking for revenge after their defeat to Switzerland last year, “It’s nice to be back in a final. It’s nice to play Switzerland as well,” the German said.
“We lost a very close match last year, and we definitely wanted to get there and compete for the title again. And that’s why me and Angie decided after last year’s final that we are definitely going to come back here to Perth.”
Earlier in the day Angelique Kerber completed her unbeaten run in singles in Perth with a comfortable 6-4 6-4 win over Ashleigh Barty.
The Wimbledon champion broke twice in a simple victory for Kerber who has already beaten Garbine Muguruza and Alize Cornet this week.
In tomorrow’s final Roger Federer will take on Alexander Zverev in a rematch from the ATP Finals semi-final while Belinda Bencic takes on Angelique Kerber. If its level after the singles then the Fast4 mixed doubles will decide who wins the 2019 Hopman Cup.
