Hopman Cup Kick Starts With Greece Upset

Great Britain’s, Cameron Norrie and Katie Boulter are soaking their debut victory at the Mastercard Hopman Cup, against Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas and Sakkari. Greece were the ehavy favorites to win the tie, however GBR had other ideas.

Norrie hard the perfect star for Great Britain, as he dispatched the rising youngster Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets 7-6(8) 6-4. The 99ranked Boulter then lost out to Sakkari in three sets 6-0 4-6 6-2,  before the duo seized the tie in a thrilling mixed doubles decider 4-3 3-4 4-3.

Due to the shortened ti-breaker, Sakkari was unaware that the match was over, thinking that a minimum of two-point lead in the tiebreak was necessary to ensure a victory.“I thought we had one more point. After I saw them celebrating (I realised),” Sakkari commented after the match.

Tsitsipas, who has captured the attention of the entire world, after his surge in the ATP rankings, and an ATP next Gen title in his bag, did not look comfortable in his opening match. The 20-year-old youngster committed a horde of unforced errors as he struggled to find his rhythm.

“It was tough to adjust from the very beginning,” said Tsitsipas. The youngster also mentioned that the conditions in Australia were much different than in Dubai, where he has been practicing in hid off season. “Cameron played really well, but I really felt uncomfortable, I don’t know why”, said the Greek. “Probably because of the weather conditions. The heat here, it’s a bit different. It’s tougher conditions than Dubai where I was preparing”, he added.

“I feel like I’m getting tired easily, which I’m not happy with because I’ve been working really hard in the off-season.”

Greece will take on USA next at the Hopman Cup and then face Switzerland. Tsitsipas will play his next singles match against the American Frances Tiafoe on Monday before facing off against the Swiss maestro Roger Federer, in a much anticipated clash on Thursday night.