Hopman Cup: The nations descend on Oz as the tennis season nears

The tennis season is merely days away and with the world's best players descending on Australia to finalise their preparations, many will be heading to Perth to take part in the Hopman Cup.  If it is anywhere near as good as last year, we are sure to be in for a treat. With Andy Murray, Serena Williams and Sabine Lisicki just some of the names taking part, the twenty-seventh edition of the precursor to the Australian Open prepares for its biggest ever year.  

Agnieszka Radwanska shocks Serena Williams as the Poles snatch the title

In last year's tournament, a whole host of talented names turned up to produce an enthralling tournament.  Andy Murray, Serena Williams, Eugenie Bouchard and Agnieszka Radwanska began their season in style as the cup produced some memorable moments.  From Canada's shock win over their local rivals the US, Fabio Fognini's trademark capitulation against the Czech Republic's unheralded Adam Pavlasek, and then the final where Radwanska defeated Serena Williams in three thrilling sets to set the Poles on their way to victory, the Hopman Cup stayed true to its tradition of combining team tennis and best-two-out-of-three action.  

This year is sure to be no different, and with a whole host of returning superstarts and a wealth of newbies thrown in, the lineup for this year may very well be the best one yet. 

US favourites to dominate Group A 

With Serena Williams back in action and she will be hoping to get her year off to a good start as she aims to finally eclipse Steffi Graf's grand slam record.  The unstoppable force of woman's tennis is  a twice winner of the cup before, and, partnered with rising star Jack Sock, the US team are one of the favourites to claim the title having been shocked by the Poles; who won't be defending their trophy this year as they haven't entered a team. 

The US will look to swat aside their competitors in Group A, having been paired with Australia Gold, the Czech Republic and the Ukraine completing their quartet.  The hosts Australia haven't won the tournament in their own backyard since 1999, where a team of Jelena Dokic and Mark Philippoussis defeated the Swedes, but they did finish as runners up in 2003. 

The team then was made up of Alicia Molik and the ever ageless Lleyton Hewitt, who will partner Jarmila Gajdosova in his final ever appearance as he is set to retire following the Australian Open.  Playing his seventh Hopman, and his first since 2012, it will also be his second time partnering Gajdosova, who also last played in 2012. In that year, the pair only won one match against the Chinese, with Spain and France proving too strong.  

A former top 25 player, Gajdosova struggled throughout last year and will be hoping to get off to a good start and build upon her one previous win at the tournament.  For Hewitt, meanwhile, the tournament is less about the result and more about preparing for a final appearance at the Australian Open.  

Should the hosts click, they will face a difficult challenge to escape from the group with Ukraine and the Czechs also sure to provide a challenge. The Czech team, winners in 2012, will be made up of Jiri Vesely and more notably Fed Cup winner Karolina Pliskova. Both players are making their first appearance in the Hopman Cup and will be hoping to carry on their good form of 2015 into the start of the new year.  In a year where Pliskova broke into the world's top ten, and Vesely the top forty, Czech tennis firmly established itself as some of the best in the world. 

Ukraine, on the other hand, have yet to ever really enjoy any success in team competitions, however in Elina Svitolina and Alexandr Dolgopolov they possess one of the most unpredictable teams.  Svitolina has enjoyed a steady climb up the world rankings and finds herself well and truly established inside the top twenty, but her partner less so. Either unplayable, as Rafael Nadal found out at Queen's, or useless, the success of the Ukrainians could very well depend on which Dolgopolov turns up.  Both playing in their first Hopman Cup, they could prove the best test to the US in the group.  

Can the Brits finally make the final? 

For the second year in a row, British interests will look towards, as they so often do, Andy Murray and Heather Watson as the pair look to build upon their two victories last year to finally escape the group stages.  Having lost in a deciding match to Australia, the Brits had to watch the final from the stands, but will be hoping to finally take centre stage.  Finalists in 2010, where Murray was partnered by Laura Robson, the pair face tough competition if they are to achieve their dream. 

However, they will be boosted by the recent success of the British Davis Cup team, where Andy Murray helped to end the drought which had befallen the nation. 

But, it sure won't be easy for the Brits, having been drawn into an incredibly difficult group with Australia Green, France and Germany. France in particular are sure to provide a tough test, with Caroline Garcia and Gael Monfils a potentially leathal partnership. Winners in 2014, where Alize Cornet and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga stole the win, the French have enjoyed great success over the years but their hopes lie on two debutants.  

Much was expected of Monfils when he burst onto the tennis scene but more often than not he seems more intent on entertaining than actually winning. This has made him one of the most loved players on tour, though, and he is not without his dangers, full of undoubted talent, and perfectly capable of beating anyone on his day; including Andy Murray.  

However, Garcia has somewhat stalled in recent times, after breaking into the world's top thirty in April, she slowly dropped down the rankings and heads to Perth at 34th.  But, after winning the last tournament of her year, where she defeated Louisa Chirico in Limoges, she will be looking to build upon this in her first ever Hopman Cup appearance. 

Another nation enduring a barren patch in Perth is the once mighty Germans, who haven't won since 1995, and whose team this year contains the mericurial Sabine Lisicki and the talented youngster Alexander Zverev. Also debutants, they are perhaps the most unknown entity taking part, with Lisicki either brilliant or awful, and Zverev only just beginning to make a name for himself.  Having ended the year inside the top hundred, the eighteen year old enjoyed wins over the likes of Kevin Anderson and, a potential opponent, Dolgopolov in 2015.  

Lisicki, however, has endured a tough couple of seasons lately, falling from twelvth in the world and Wimbledon finalist, to outside the world's top thirty and without a singles title since 2014. She remains on her day an incredibly talented player but it remains to be seen whether her Wimbledon run was a once-off, or if she really can establish herself as a top player.  A good start in the Hopman Cup would be exactly what the doctored ordered. 

The final team making up Group B is potentially the most controversial, with Daria Gavrilova making her first appearance since switching to Australia from Russia, and the infamous Nick Kyrgios looking to fulfill Aussie hopes.  

Kyrgios will be hoping his 2016 is more about his tennis than his mouth, as was so often the case last year, and the hugely talented youngster joins his partner in making his debut at the Hopman Cup. No one doubts his talent, with big wins over Rafael Nadal, Stan Wawrinka - a match better remembered for what was said than swung - and Milos Raonic, merely substantiating these claims. But he often talks himself into trouble and has yet to really back up his high confidence with a major title win.  

Gavrilova, however, is a far less controversial figure, but also one containing plenty of talent. Having missed most of 2014 through injury, she returned last year and slowly rebuilt her game and reputation, ending the year back inside the world's top fifty and with wins over Alize Cornet, Lucie Safarova and Sara Errani thrown in.  Now an Australian citizen having swapped the cold of Moscow for the heat of Melbourne, her first appearance at the Hopman Cup should prove enticing with Kyrgios by her side.  

Stay tuned to VAVEL for all the latest on the Hopman Cup and the whole of the 2016 tennis season