Tennis Channel Begins
2015 Harry Hopman Cup Coverage January 4
Stars Serena Williams and John Isner to Represent United States
in Sport's Most Prestigious Mixed-Doubles Tournament
Tennis Channel will bring viewers exclusive tournament coverage from the 2015 Hyundai Hopman Cup beginning Sunday, Jan. 4, at 8 p.m. ET. Serena Williams, World No. 1, will partner with top-ranked American man John Isner in the annual mixed-doubles tournament. The network's telecast will include action from around the world as well as U.S. competitions. All Hopman Cup matches, which feature teams consisting of one man and one woman, will take place at the Perth Arena in Australia, Jan. 4-Jan. 10.
The United States leads all nations in Hopman Cup titles, claiming its sixth crown in 2011; when Isner played for the team. This year he won titles at Auckland and Atlanta, and helped the U.S. Davis Cup team beat Slovakia 5-0 in September. Williams captured her 18th Grand Slam singles title at this year's US Open and has won four Olympic gold medals, including one in singles and three in doubles with her sister Venus. She also holds 13 Grand Slam doubles titles and two mixed doubles titles. Williams has contributed to two American Hopman Cup championships during her career.
Tennis Channel's 2015 Hopman Cup coverage begins with Canada's Eugenie Bouchard and Vasek Pospisil, who will face the Czech Republic's Lucie Safarova and Adam Pavlasek. Bouchard, World No. 7, made Canadian tennis history this year at Wimbledon when she defeated World No. 3 Simona Halep to become the nation's first women's singles finalist. In 2014, the Czech Republic's Safarova advanced to her first Grand Slam semifinal at Wimbledon before falling to fellow Czech and Fed Cup teammate Petra Kvitova.
Coverage from Perth, Australia (all times ET):
Sunday, Jan. 4:
8 p.m. - Canada v. Czech Republic
Monday, Jan. 5:
8 p.m. - Italy v. USA
Tuesday, Jan. 6:
8 p.m. - Canada v. USA
Sunday, Jan. 11:
10 a.m. - Championship
The Americans' first challenge is Italy's Flavia Pennetta and Fabio Fognini. Pennetta, World No. 12, reached to the quarterfinals at the Australian Open and US Open in 2014 and won her 10th WTA title at Indian Wells. In doubles, Pennetta and partner Martina Hingis made it to the finals at the US Open before falling to Russia's Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina. Italy's top-ranked male player, Fognini reached a career-high ranking this year of World No. 13, and won his third ATP title at Vina del Mar, while also advancing to the finals at Buenos Aires and Munich.