Slovak Republic claim 2009 Hopman Cup tennis
The team of Dominika Cibulkova and Dominic Hrbaty has won the 2009 Hopman Cup title for the Slovak Republic. The combination was too good for the Russian brother and sister pairing of Dinara Safina and Marat Safin.
Cibulkova the 19th ranked player in the world proved too consistant for world no. 3 Safina. The Russian took the first set in a tie break only to see her forehand crumble in the second and third sets. She lost the second set 6-1 and looked to be limping out of the match when Cibulkova was ahead 5-1 in the third.
As she had done at the 2008 French Open Safina fought back. The big Russian got the match back to 5-4 as the 19-year-old Slovak player tried to close out the match. Safina had two break back points but in the end it was the lower ranked player who held her nerve to take the first match.
Marat Safin and Dominc Hrbaty then took to the court for the 16th time as opponents throughout their careers. Safin held a 8-7 advantage in the head-to-head.
The first set went with serve and was decided in a tie-break. Safin looked to be in control before struggling to hold a few points. He was then able to take the first set after hitting a great running passing shot.
The second set was going with serve until Hrbaty got the break at 4-4, he was immediately broken back to see the set at 5-5. Again Hrbaty broke Safin but this time he held his next service game and won the second set 7-5.
The third set was another tough battle. After a while we saw that the Hopman Cup would either be won by the Slovak Republic or would go to the mixed doubles. As it was Hrbaty was too strong for Safin and he took the match 6-7(5), 7-5, 7-6(3).
With the win Hrbaty helped his team win the Hopman Cup. It was also his second trophy after winning with Daniela Hantuchova in edition XVII.
It was a great win for the Slovak Republic and a great disappoinment for the Russian pairing. It was more than likely the last time Marat Safin will play the Hopman Cup as he has announced that 2009 will be his last year on the ATP tour.
Cibulkova is one to watch at the Australian Open, although the grand slam tournament is a whole different beast and it will be interesting to see how she handles the pressure.
Facebook comments:
