By Jess Fagan
After a 17-year drought – Australia has once again claimed the Hopman Cup title, thanks to the heroics of ‘Australia Green’, Nick Kyrgios and Daria Gavrilova.
To put that into perspective, the only other time Australia has lifted the trophy, when Mark Philippoussis and Jelena Dokic teamed up to take out the crown in 1999, Kyrgios was just 3 and his partner Gavrilova was 4.
20-year-old Kyrgios was in sparking form all week, undefeated in all his singles matches, including an impressive win over world number 2, Andy Murray. The young pairing also enjoyed an unbeaten run in the doubles.
But it was Gavrilova, who only received her Australian passport a few weeks before the event, who got the team off to the perfect start against Ukraine in the final, with a straight sets win over No. 19, Elina Svitolina. Kyrgios then completed the victory with a 6-3 6-4 victory over Alexandr Dolgopolov.
Having known each other since their junior days, the win obviously meant a lot to the rising stars and Gavrilova was lost for words when it came time to accept the trophy.
“Thank you everyone for supporting us once again!” She said on Twitter after the tie. “Big thanks to @TennisAustralia, @NickKyrgios you were amazing, thank you!”
It’s also a positive sign for both players leading into the Australian Open. Kyrgios’ dismantling of Murray will have sent a strong message to the rest of the field.
Image courtesy of Nick Kyrgios’ Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/nkyrgios/?fref=nf)