Nick Kyrgios and Daria Gavrilova got one of Australia’s two teams at the Hopman Cup off to a dominant start on Sunday. The Aussies won both of the singles matches and followed it up with a 6-3, 4-6, 10-7 mixed doubles victory to take care of Germany 3-0.
Kyrgios plays a 12-shot rally without moving:
Kyrgios plays an entire point (12 shots) without moving pic.twitter.com/Ubous0hOls
— Ricky Dimon (@Dimonator) January 3, 2016
But it was Gavriolva who was the star. Before Kyrgios beat Alexander Zverev 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 to give the host nation an insurmountable lead, Gavrilova had gotten things started with a surprising 6-2, 6-2 beatdown of Sabine Lisicki. At one point during the mixed doubles match, the 21-year-old nailed Zverev with a blistering forehand service return.
The most awkward moment of 2016 so far came immediately after the match. It’s safe to say Kyrgios and Gavrilova were not exactly sure how to congratulate each other….
Why, Nick? Kiss her She’s adorable!
he thought about it!
So…is this kinda a Hopman Cup thread?
Just want give kudos to Vicki Duval stepping in to take Serena’s place – Vicki is wonderful!
Also, what a performance by Alexander Dolgopolov! You just never know what the Dog will do. Congrats Ukraine.
it sure is
Dolgo was on fire for a stretch
great to see you here ratcliff!! happy new year!!
Thanks amy! same to you!
Maybe Nick was just being careful…Daria is Luke Saville’s gf.
maybe that’s why Dasha turned away!
Hopman Cup is set to heat up when Nick meets Andy Murray on Wednesday, 1/6…
Nick Kyrgios says:
“I have been looking forward to facing Murray for a long time now so I’m going to go and do everything I can to physically prepare for that battle,” he said.
http://www.skysports.com/tennis/news/12110/10118131/nick-kyrgios-cannot-wait-to-face-andy-murray-as-australia-steam-through-hopman-cup-first-round
I can’t see anyone stopping Andy Murray in singles. But, it’s less clear on the WTA singles side. Hard to choose between: Pliskova, Svitolina, Gavrilova, Duval, Watson, Garcia, Wolfe (Gjadosova), and Liscki.
It could come down to the doubles to decide!
not Duval or Lisicki, that’s for sure!
When I said Duval is wonderful, I meant her personality!
She has not had much experience. And Lisicki it’s true, is coming back from injury.
Depends on Watson. If she can lift her game, GBR can win. But Andy and Heather lost their dubs match to France’s DeSchepper and Garcia 😀 It’s tough to pick, Ricky…who ya got?
Australia
Green or Gold group?
Gosh, what are the rules? There’s 2 Australia’s. LOL…
It’s not fair!
im hedging my bets when is say “Australia”
!
Pick the group with Nick and Daria. Jarmila and Lleyton – nope.
I’ll go with Murray and Watson. Andy’s a one man winning machine at these events.
right. but adding Hewitt-Groth to my bet is still better than just taking Nick and Dasha!
#safe
Too bad Pospisil or Milos didn’t team up with Genie B for Canada this year.
Coverage of tennis in Canada is pathetic this year.
No Hopman Cup, no ATP coverage at all!
Bring Tennis Channel to Canada!!!
Tennis coverage isn’t that great even with Tennis Channel, hawks. I still have to search live-streams.
But it is probably a little improved with TC here. This week it’s great coverage for Hopman Cup and WTA – black out for ATP until … late Thursday/Friday in Australia.
Canadian television industry is very protective and lobbies government hard here to prevent american channels like Tennis Channel from being made available to tennis fans.
The sports channels here buy the rights and then choose to show darts, bowling, spelling bee, highlight reels instead. Some live coverage (mostly slams) and a lot of recorded/delayed coverage but very inconsistent.
I like your avatar. Much better than when you first joined. 🙂
Well? I have lotsa avatars. Don’t get too used to Simona! Very bad luck for her to get Vika for he first match.
Speaking of Genie B., I see her first match is vs Donna Vekic in Shenzhen but the time slotted makes it impossible to watch. I’ll have to watch highlights.
Tennis Channel live coverage just started and it’s Auckland – probably for Venus’ match. Schedule looks like no Hopman Cup tonight (Czech Republic v Ukraine) and says WTA Brisbane…so I’ll be looking for a stream later. That’s how Tennis Chanel coverage goes. They’ll show Brisbane for Sharapova; or, if Serena or team USA was playing, TC would show Hopman Cup. Oh, wait… 2:30 am – 8 am. Probably that’s for the night session in Perth – which means USA v Australia gold group. Sheesh. If I was president of Tennis Channel…it would all be very different… full coverage all matches and coverage for our Canadian neighbors too!
Meant to say no ATP coverage this week.
Spotty tape-delayed coverage anticipated throughout the year.
Thank God for TennisTV.com
Tennis Canada keeps Canadian tennis fans informed as to where they can watch their favourite players throughout the year…
http://www.tenniscanada.com/fan-zone/tv-schedule/
#Shhh..HockeySeason247365
Serena is back!
She pulled out injured.
Sascha Z. 62 62 nice win over Kenny De Schepper – watched it on a live stream. Very bright future for Sascha, I’m thinking.
It’s Australia green v GBR after France/Germany doubles. Murray v Kyrgios later on Tennis Channel, in case anyone is awake. I won’t be!
when is it
Was asleep with Tennis Channel on but woke up as Nick Kyrgios was serving for the match. Nick in 2! The kid did it – he beat Andy for the first time!
His celebration was muted and very respectful. Well don Nick.
But I love what Nick said (as deapan as possible) in the on-court interview: Ya, I told a couple of my friends I’d beat him.
Just like that – he is completely charming. Imagine the smiles on Rusty, Kokk, and Bernie….lol good stuff.
Exhos don’t really count.
Tell that to Andy Murray, hawkie. You should have seen the way he walked out! Not happy.No giggles.
Not many can beat Kyrgios when he’s occasionally at his best. Nole maybe. He seems to only do so about 10% of the year.
Charming? That’s a word I’ve never heard in the same sentence as Kyrgios until now lol.
Muguruza retired
Wrong thread, Ricky 😉
Shoot. I pick em’, they retire.
Hope it’s not serious.
take out the word “really” and you might be onto something
Tell that to Federer. His body language when he lost to Rafa in IPTL says otherwise.
Same for Rafa when he lost to Milos.
I suspect same is true for Muzza from what rattie said.
Regardless, Murray is still 4-0 vs Kyrgios.
You have a point about exho’s not counting – literally. No points. Doesn’t go on h2h.
But all exhos are not equal; just reporting what I saw and heard, Hawkeyes.
Unhappy Muzza; Charming Nick – no fist pump, jump, happy dance…almost yes, humble, until he spoke in the interview. He tried his best but he’s busted (imo) by slight tensing around his mouth into a slight smirk when he admitted he’d told a few friends he’d beat Andy. Probably a lie – but it was funny.
Nobody’s perfect.
2:30 am – 8 am …mountain time zone, US.
How can I get back to sleep? Dasha and Heather are on! Judy Murray in the house for Heather but she had to be there during the singles match. Commiserations, Judy.
Nick already changed his clothes, ready with a flag, and on the edge of his seat to cheer Dasha — sweet! What a trooper, Nick. Gives all for the team. Bless his heart.
Would be a great final if Australian Green meets GBR in the Final!
On second thought, Aus Green and GBR are both in group B – Final can’t be them.
Ukraine and Czech Republic are 1 & 2 in group A.
Intense match this Dasha v Heather … tie break went to Dasha 1st set. Both players giving everything they got! Dasha with heavy taping on her rt. calf. Long rallies. Big battle!
Even though exhos do not count, I am sure Andy’s defeat was or should be a wake up call for him from the rest he was taking on his DC laurels or the soporific state induced by all the talk of his impending fatherhood. I was disappointed to hear that he was prepared to abandon AO midway if Kim goes into labor. He is hugely talented and he needs to make his resume match his talent. He probably has only this year and next to win slams. Djoko is taking advantage of the weak era. If Andy sets his mind to it, he can win a couple of slams too before the nextgen take over. Which I am sure they will. Kyrgios, Kokk, Coric, Zverev are promising. In any case after 2018 every member of the Big 4 would be definitely out of their prime ( Fed already is and has been for sometime) and would at best be able to win a slam or two if they keep playing till 35 or whatever.
The energy in this dubs match! Andy not giving up – Nick coming through time after time, Dasha and Heather going after it! Best doubles I’ve seen since Dog and Belgian ponytail beat Bryan Bros and Rog/Stan to win Indian Wells 2011.
Unbelievable points. Match point. Aussie’s get it.
In the end, just a hit and giggle.