| Hyundai Hopman Cup 2003 |
 | | Serena Williams and James Blake won the XV Hopman Cup for the USA |
2003 Event: USA Captures Hopman Cup XV
The USA won its second Hyundai Hopman Cup title defeating number two seeds Australia in the final of the ITF's Official International Mixed Team Championships held in Perth's Burswood Dome, Australia.
The in-form pairing of Serena Williams and James Blake proved too strong for Lleyton Hewitt and Alicia Molik, winning 3-0 without the loss of a set. In the first match-up, 21-year-old Williams cruised to a straight sets victory over home favourite Molik, losing only five games en route to an impressive 62 63 victory.
Despite a gutsy performance, the Aussie defences eventually broke with the hard-hitting power play from the Williams racquet proving impenetrable. Williams conceded no more than one point in any of her eight service games and dropped just three points in total on serve.
In the second singles match, Blake defeated an out-of-touch Hewitt 63 64 in 64 minutes. Hewitt, who had demonstrated amazing form in the first two rounds of the tournament by defeating Davide Sanguinetti and Dominik Hrbaty with the loss of only five games, had visibly started to run out of steam in the final. The potent combination of consistency and a ferocious forehand from the American side of the net was the key to victory that clinched the USA's second Hopman Cup title.
The USA is now the fifth country to have won two Hopman Cup titles, joining the Czech Republic, Germany, Spain and Switzerland as one of the most successful Hopman Cup countries.
This was the 15th edition of this great season-opening event and, with increased coverage and spectator attendance, was one of the most successful. A record crowd total of 82,079 fans shattered the previous tally for the week-long event
by just over 3000.
The week began with Uzbekistan qualifying for the tournament proper with a 2-1 win over Paraguay in the qualifying match. However, after that Australia and the USA dominated the week with their inexorable march towards the final.
Australia won their first two ties, against Italy and the Slovak Republic, without the loss of a match, but Lleyton Hewitt's surprise loss to Jiri Novak in the Australia vs Czech Republic tie meant that Hewitt and Molik had to overcome Novak and Bedanova in the decisive doubles.
The USA's path to the final mirrored that of the Australians. Easy 3-0 wins over Uzbekistan and Spain set up a decisive clash with Belgium. An on-court clash between tennis's most famous couple, Kim Clijsters and Lleyton Hewitt, was averted when the Americans came through the mixed doubles to secure their place in the final.
The event was sanctioned by the ITF in 1996, and Hyundai has been the title sponsor since 1997. The Hopman Cup is organised as a round-robin event with eight nations competing in two pools of four nations. The winning team from each pool then goes forward to contest the final. The event is played each year in Perth, Australia, at the Burswood International Resort Casino.
Full results from the 2003 competition are listed below
Final
USA d. AUSTRALIA 3-0: S. Williams (USA) d. A. Molik (AUS) 62 63; J. Blake
(USA) d L. Hewitt (AUS) 63 64; J. Blake/S. Williams (USA) d. L. Hewitt/A.
Molik (AUS) 63 62.
Session 11
SPAIN d. UZBEKISTAN 2-1: I. Tulyaganova (UZB) d. V. Ruano Pascual
(Spain) 76(6) 60; T. Robredo (ESP) d. O. Orgorodov (UZB) 60 64; T.
Robredo/V. Pascual (ESP) d. O. Ogorodov/I. Tulyaganova (UZB) 62 64.
USA d BELGIUM 2-1: S. Williams (USA) d K. Clijsters (Belgium) 75 63; X.
Malisse (BEL) d J. Blake (USA) 76(6) 62; J. Blake/S. Williams (USA) d. X.
Malisse/K. Clijsters (BEL) 76(6) 36 10(5) (super tiebreak).
Session 10
SLOVAK REP. d. ITALY 3-0: D. Hantuchova (SVK) d. S. Farina-Elia (ITA) 64
63; D. Hrbaty (SVK) d. D. Sanguinetti (ITA) 63 76(4); D. Hrbaty/D. Hantuchova
(SVK) d. D. Sanguinetti/S. Farina-Elia (ITA) 83 (Pro-set).
AUSTRALIA d. CZECH REP. 2-1: A. Molik (AUS) d. D. Bedanova (CZE) 76(3)
75; J. Novak (CZE) d L. Hewitt (AUS) 62 36 63; L. Hewitt/A. Molik (AUS) d. J.
Novak/D. Bedanova (CZE) 46 75 10(4) (super tiebreak).
Session 9
BELGIUM d. UZBEKISTAN 3-0: K. Clijsters (BEL) d. I. Tulyaganova (UZB) 63
62; X. Malisse (BEL) d. O. Ogorodov (UZB) 63 67(3) 62; X. Malisse/K.
Clijsters (BEL) d. O. Ogorodov/I. Tulyaganova (UZB) 61 61.
Session 8
CZECH REP. d. ITALY 2-1: S. Farina-Elia (ITA) d. D. Bedanova (CZE) 64 26
62; J. Novak (CZE) d. D. Sanguinetti (ITA) 67(10) 75 75;
J. Novak/D. Bedanova (CZE) d. D. Sanguinetti/S. Farina-Elia (ITA) 63 63.
Session 7
USA d. SPAIN 3-0: S. Williams (USA) d. V. Ruano Pascual (ESP) 63 63; J.
Blake (USA) d. T. Robredo (ESP) 63 60; J. Blake/S. Williams (USA) d. T.
Robredo/V. Ruano Pascual (ESP) 61 64.
Session 6
AUSTRALIA d. SLOVAK REP. 3-0: A.Molik (AUS) d. D.Hantuchova (SVK) 64
62; L. Hewitt (AUS) d. D.Hrbaty (SVK) 62 60; L. Hewitt/A. Molik (AUS) d. D.
Hrbaty/D. Hantuchova (SVK) 76(2) 76(5).
Session 5
USA d. UZBEKISTAN 3-0: S. Williams (USA) d. I. Tulyaganova (UZB) 63 62;
J. Blake (USA) d O. Orgorodov (UZB) 26 75 61
J. Blake/ S. Williams (USA) d O.Ogorodov/I. Tulyaganova (UZB) 63 61.
Session 4
BELGIUM d. SPAIN 2-1: K. Clijsters (BEL) d. V. Ruano Pascual (ESP) 61 60;
T. Robredo (ESP) d. X. Malisse (BEL) 76(1) 36 63; X. Malisse/K. Clijsters
(BEL) d. T. Robredo/V. Pascual (ESP) 26 75 10(7) (super tiebreak).
Session 3
CZECH REP. d. SLOVAK REP. 2-1: D. Bedanova (CZE) d. D. Hantuchova
(SVK) 36 64 61; J. Novak (CZE) d. D. Hrbaty (SVK) 76 (1) 57 63; D. Hrbaty/D.
Hantuchova (SVK) d. J. Novak/D. Bedanova (CZE) 57 76(4) 10(9).
Session 2
AUSTRALIA d. ITALY 3-0: A.Molik (AUS) d. S. Farina-Elia (ITA) 63 64; L.
Hewitt (AUS) d. D. Sanguinetti (ITA) 63 61; L. Hewitt/A. Molik (AUS) d. D.
Sanguinetti/S. Farina-Elia (ITA) (walkover).
Session 1
UZBEKISTAN d. PARAGUAY 2-1: R. Neffa-de Los Rios (PAR) d. I.
Tulyaganova (UZB) 64 62; O. Orgorodov (UZB) d. R. Delgado (PAR) 75 63;
O. Ogorodov/I. Tulyaganova (UZB) d. R. Delgado/R. Neffa-de Los Rios
(PAR) 64 76(4)
^ Back to Top
|
