Stars John Isner and Sloane Stephens to Represent United States
in Prestigious Mixed-Doubles Tournament
LOS ANGELES, Dec. 2013 — Tennis Channel will bring viewers tournament coverage from the 2014 Hyundai Hopman Cup beginning Monday, Dec. 30, at 8:30 a.m. ET. The network’s telecast will include action from around the world as well as U.S. competitions and the championship final of the annual international mixed-doubles tournament. All Hopman Cup matches, which feature teams consisting of one man and one woman, will take place at the Perth Arena in Australia , Dec. 28-Jan. 4.
The United States leads all nations in Hopman Cup titles, claiming its sixth crown in 2011. This year’s mixed-doubles team features 6-foot-10-inch U.S. Davis Cup regular, John Isner, who will be competing for his fourth time, and 2013 Australian Open semifinalist Sloane Stephens, who will be making her Hopman Cup debut. Isner, currently the top-ranked American male player, won his first title on clay this year at the U.S. Clay Court Championships in Houston and defeated 6-foot-8-inch Kevin Anderson to win the tallest final in ATP World Tour history at the Atlanta Open. This summer he defeated Richard Gasquet and three top-ten players in a row: Milos Raonic, Novak Djokovic and Juan Martin del Potro en route to the final in Cincinnati . Stephens reached the semifinals at this year’s Australian Open by defeating Serena Williams and reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon before falling to eventual champion Marion Bartoli.
The Americans’ first challenge is Spain’s Tommy Robredo and Anabel Medina Garrigues. Robredo became the first Spaniard to win the ATP Vegeta Croatia Open since Juan Carlos Ferrero in 2010, when he defeated Fabio Fognini in straight sets this past July. In 2013 Robredo recorded his first career win against Roger Federer at the 2013 US Open and advanced for the first time to the tournament’s quarterfinals.
Coverage from Perth , Australia (all times ET):
Monday, Dec. 30:
8:30 a.m. – Poland v. Canada
8 p.m. – USA v. Spain
Tuesday, Dec. 31:
8 p.m. – France v. Czech Republic
Wednesday, Jan. 1:
8 p.m. – USA v. France
Saturday, Jan. 4:
8 p.m. – USA v. Czech Republic
Sunday, Jan. 5:
8 p.m. – Championship
A number of top-ranked tennis stars are competing for this year’s Hopman Cup. This includes Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska, Canada’s Milos Raonic, Italy’s Flavia Pennetta and Australia’s Bernard Tomic.
Topics: 10sballs, Atp, Hopman Cup, John Isner, Sloane Stephens, Sports, Tennis, Tennis Channel, Tennis News, Wta