French to face Poles in final

This year’s Hopman Cup has edged ever closer to its conclusion, with the finalists from both groups being decided in two nervy last round robin matches barely twenty four hours apart. In Thursday’s final match, the Poles secured their place with a tight 2-1 win over the home Aussies, while the French sailed into the showcase matchup with a comfortable win over Spain.

Meanwhile, it was heartbreak for the Canadian pair of Milos Raonic and Eugenie Bouchard who missed out on Saturday’s grandstand final by the finest of margins. After trouncing Italy to give them every bit a fighting chance, they will have been desperately hoping that the Aussies could somehow secure their maiden victory to send them through. It all started rather well on the painfully humid day in Perth, with Bernard Tomic sweeping past giant killer Grzegor Panfil to secure hand the bottom team the ascendency. The buzzing crowd had every reason for optimism when Sam Stosur raced into a one set lead over her much fancied opponent, Agnieszka Radwanska.

However, as she so often has in the past, the former US Open champion began to diabolically crumble as the pressure on her grew from the crowd, with some wild forehands flying wide and one especially tight one that nearly hit the crowd. While she fluttered, Radwanska remained ever cool and began to play some sumptuous tennis to take the match into a deciding tie.

So, all the Poles had to do now was secure a set and the place in the final would be theirs. But, it looked for a while that the Aussies had other ideas, with Bernard Tomic in particular looking to do his friend Raonic a favour. The hosts raced into a 6-1 lead and continued to look strong throughout the second set. That was until the Poles upped the ante to break and secure the second set.

The celebration at the changeover evoked the emotions of a team who had won the match, and for all that the last set mattered, they might as well have. Panfil and Radwanska beamed elatedly as they took their place for the champions tie break and their high spirits prevailed as they won this to 8, securing a perfect three from three record.

So, going in to today’s ties and all that was left was for an opponent to be decided from Group B. At the beginning of play, the French sat in pole position and knew that a win against a struggling Spanish side would to just that. Riding high on confidence and form, the French side wasted little time as they eased to a comfortable victory over the tournament’s bottom side.

While journeyman Daniel Munoz-De La Nava put up an almighty fight against the world number ten, Jo Wilfried Tsonga, the raw power and physique of the Frenchman won out in the end. In what turned out to be a great spectacle, the battling qualities of the Spaniard were those of a man ranked much higher than he, and one hopes he will gain some confidence from this. Tsonga, meanwhile, looked devilishly fresh as he sprung about the court in his trademark manner.

She has proven to be the French heroine on several occasions so far, and all that Alize Cornet had to do was beat a struggling Anabel Medina Garrigues to secure the French place in the final. Marvellous in the side’s previous doubles matches, she blew her opponent off of the court, hitting some delicate winners and sprightly returns, as she brushed the challenge of the world number 100 to one side.

She looked positively delighted with yet another victory as she leapt for joy at the end. Just to rub salt in the already painful Spanish wounds, she recovered her composure enough for her and Tsonga to complete a whitewash and send the Spanish packing with no wins from three.

In the tournament’s last round robin match, a depleted American side were beaten by the Czech Republic, who ended the warm up on a high. With firstly Sloane Stephens and the John Isner pulling out with injury, the meaningless tie was awarded to the European team of Radek Stepanek and Petra Kvitova 3-0. But, the crowd were not to be left too disappointed, as the big Canadian Milos Raonic stepped up to the plate and he and Stepanek fought out a tough three setter, with the Czech usurping the big server in a tight tie break. The Czechs then went on to win their final match as they faced off against Bojana Bobusic and Olivia Anderson in a super set, the Czechs winning 8-3.

But, this has all set the Hopman Cup for what is sure to be a wonderful finale, with the top seeds Poland facing a tough battle against the third seeded French for her crown.

Results

Thursday 2nd January

Canada 3 v 0 Italy

Milos Raonic d. Andreas Seppi 6-2 6-4

Eugenie Bouchard d. Flavia Pennetta 4-0 ret.

Bouchard/Raonic d. Seppi/Bojana Bobusic (AUS)* 6-1 6-4

Poland 2 v 1 Australia

Bernard Tomic d. Grzegorz Panfil 6-1 6-4

Agnieska Radwanska d. Sam Stosur 3-6 6-4 6-3

Panfil/Radwanska d. Tomic/Stosur 1-6 7-5 10-8

Friday 3rd January

France 3 v 0 Spain