Serena Williams to head star-studded Hopman Cup field
World No. 1 Serena Williams will partner Wimbledon marathon man John Isner in the USA’s Hopman Cup team in 2011, but Serena is not the only star headed to Perth, Western Australia, for the mixed-team tournament.
While Serena is set to participate in the competition for the third time in her career - having won the title alongside James Blake in 2003 and in conjunction with Mardy Fish in 2008 - former world No. 1 Justine Henin is slated to make her first appearance at the Hopman Cup when it gets underway during January. Henin is to be partnered by her lesser known compatriot Steve Darcis.
“It’s a spectacular line-up,” tournament director, Paul McNamee said. “Some of the biggest and most celebrated names in the sport will play-off for the coveted diamond-encrusted trophies in January, Justine Henin will become the 22nd No. 1 to participate and it is fantastic that Perth fans will get to see her in action”.
Serbia will have the services of 2008 Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic, who will be seeking success alongside 2008 French Open champion Ana Ivanovic. The pair also represented Serbia & Montenegro in 2006, when the two rising talents finished second in their group. Djokovic also teamed up with Jelena Jankovic in 2008, when the pair were runners-up to the USA.
"Novak and I are good friends and I often play my best tennis when I'm relaxed, but for sure we're going to be competing hard and doing our best to win the competition," said current world No. 60 Ivanovic, who will no doubt be looking for a positive start to her year in Perth as she seeks to recapture the form that took her to the top of the game only a couple of years ago.
France have also confirmed their participation in the event, and will be represented by world No. 17 Gael Monfils and Kristina Mladenovic, while host nation Australia’s team is to be comprised of Lleyton Hewitt and an as yet unnamed partner.
World No. 5 Sam Stosur combined with Hewitt in last year’s Hopman Cup, but the pair failed to live up to expectations in the 22nd staging of the event, the two Australian No. 1s missing out on a place in the final despite high hopes of success leading into the tournament.
With the remaining three Hopman Cup teams to be announced in October, it remains unclear who will represent last year’s champions Spain and runners-up Great Britain, and indeed, whether the teams will contest this year’s tournament.
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