Vekic and Coric win Hopman Cup for Croatia
Donna Vekic and Borna Coric won both their singles ties to clinch victory for Croatia against Switzerland
Coric and Vekic win the Hopman Cup 2023 for Croatia Norbert Scanella / Panoramic
Four-and-a-half years after Roger Federer and Belinda Bencic won the Hopman Cup for Switzerland in January 2019, Donna Vekic and Borna Coric have triumphed over the Swiss in the final of the Hopman Cup 2023.
Vekic opened proceedings on finals day by taking on Celine Naef, with the greatly more experienced Croat showing her class and quality to brush aside a spirited effort from the world No 165. The current world No 20 won through in straight sets, beating Naef 6-3, 6-4 in just under an hour and thirty minutes to get Croatia off to a perfect start.
Borna Coric then fulfilled his side of the bargain by sweeping aside Leandro Riedi 6-1, 6-4 to move the Croatians into an unassailable 2-0 lead in the tie.
The shot that won it all 💥#hopmancup2023 #winner #champion #coric #Croatia pic.twitter.com/t3p8g0xoVg
— Hopman Cup (@hopmancup) July 23, 2023
The remaining mixed doubles match was therefore a dead rubber and was not played, as Vekic and Coric had done enough on the singles court to ensure this final did not go down to the wire.
It has been a welcome return – albeit a rather understated one – for the Hopman Cup this summer. It left the tennis calendar after its last edition in 2019 to some consternation, to be replaced by the short-lived ATP Cup as the curtain-raiser for the new season.
There was a genuine appetite among both players and fans for a mixed-gender international team competition after the loss of the Hopman Cup.
That initially came in the form of the hugely successful United Cup, with its inaugural edition taking place this January.
But the return of the more traditionally-focused Hopman Cup, in a new position in the calendar, felt like a much-needed and welcome palate-cleanser after the intensity of back-to-back clay and grass-court stretches on the ATP and the WTA.
Second time for Croatia 🇭🇷
— Hopman Cup (@hopmancup) July 23, 2023
What a feeling guys 🤩@borna_coric & @DonnaVekic #hopmancup2023 #tennis #winners #croatia pic.twitter.com/EqXnNk2k62
Vekic and Coric have been a revelation as a team, enhancing each other’s considerable talents as a pairing. Nowhere was this more evident than in their hugely impressive – and crucial – win over Carlos Alcaraz and Masarova of Spain in the decisive mixed doubles match to reach the final.
The Hopman Cup has returned – and for the next year at least, it belongs to Croatia.
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