Hopman Cup, the ITF's official mixed team competition, has an illustrious history and has featured legends of the game such as Roger Federer, Serena Williams, Novak Djokovic, Steffi Graf, John McEnroe, Martina Hingis, Boris Becker, Li Na and Andy Murray. Last week, following a four-year break, the tournament returned to the tennis calendar in stunning style at Nice Lawn Tennis Club.

Croatia topped the Hopman Cup podium for the first time since 1996 following convincing singles victories for Donna Vekic and Borna Coric in the final as holders Switzerland relinquished their grip on the trophy.

Vekic and Coric were on inspired form all week as Croatia navigated showdowns with Belgium and Spain in the group stage to set up a winner-takes-all clash with four-time champions Switzerland.

Once there, Vekic dispatched Celine Naef 6-3 6-4 before Coric settled matters by outmanoeuvring Leandro Riedi 6-1 6-4. It proved a memorable tournament for Riedi, who earlier in the week defeated both world No. 6 Holger Rune and Richard Gasquet of France, although the final was a step too far as the plaudits belonged to Coric. 

The shot that won it all 💥#hopmancup2023 #winner #champion #coric #Croatia pic.twitter.com/t3p8g0xoVg

— Hopman Cup (@hopmancup) July 23, 2023

“When we came here, we were both not playing our best tennis, and we had never played mixed doubles,” said world No. 15 Coric. “We were not sure how it was going to play out, but we were very happy that we were playing, and it was my pleasure to be here with Donna."

World No. 22 Vekic added: “It was really a lot of fun playing with Borna. We have known each other for almost 20 years, and we’ve never played doubles before now. So far, we’re unbeaten!”

THE HOPMAN CUP 2023 WINNERS🇭🇷🫶🏻@borna_coric & @DonnaVekic pic.twitter.com/qa1ZMWfBfz

— Hopman Cup (@hopmancup) July 23, 2023

They were not joking about their mixed doubles capabilities. Both of their group ties boiled down to doubles, with the intrepid pair holding their nerve to win nerve-racking match tiebreaks against Belgium’s Elise Mertens and David Goffin and Spanish duo Rebeka Masarova and Carlos Alcaraz.

Incidentally, world No. 1 Alcaraz won both of his singles matches during the week to continue the stunning form which saw him conquer all before him at Wimbledon and claim his second Grand Slam title only days earlier.

Ultimately, however, Croatia were not to be denied and their victory evoked memories of 1996 when Goran Ivanisevic and Iva Majoli – the tournament director in Nice – guided their nation to victory over a Swiss team featuring Martina Hingis and Marc Rosset.