Events like the Hopman cup usually make for some super interesting matches, with one example being a face-off between Roger Federer and Naomi Osaka in 2018 with their respective doubles partners. Federer teamed up with Belinda Bencic and Osaka with Yuichi Sugita.
The players represented their countries in this high voltage clash between Switzerland and Japan. There wasn’t much left with respect to the tie as Switzerland had already claimed the victory. Roger had defeated Sugita 6-4, 6-3 and Bencic overcame Osaka 7-5, 6-3 in the singles fixtures held earlier.
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This match was only a way for Japan to save face and not struggle with a humiliating whitewash. However, that would not be the outcome. Federer and Bencic would go on to claim the victory with a scoreline of 2-4, 4-1, 4-3. Still, that’s not how people remember this match. A very crucial moment came when Naomi Osaka outclassed Roger Federer.
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How did Naomi Osaka dodge Roger Federer?
Naomi Osaka hit a thunderous ace against Federer in the third game of the mixed doubles tie. Osaka was serving from the deuce court and fired a serve wide towards the right hand of Roger Federer. The Swiss maestro was unable to make any contact with the out-swinging ball.
Osaka was visibly happy with this achievement as she punched the air with both her fists and celebrated with her mixed doubles partner Yuichi Sugita. Roger Federer was also impressed by the serve as he gave a wry smile. None of this could save Japan from the whitewash.
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Switzerland would also go on to win the tournament on the back of impressive performances by Roger Federer and Belinda Bencic. In the finals, they defeated a German team led by Alexander Zverev and Angelique Kerber. As expected, it was a mouth-watering contest with Federer defeating Zverev 6-7, 6-0, 6-2 and Bencic losing to Kerber 6-4, 6-1. In the deciding mixed doubles clash, Federer and Bencic would prevail 4-3, 4-2.
Unfortunately, that would be the last time we saw the Hopman Cup.
