Roger Federer beats Cameron Norrie at Hopman Cup
Sunday 30 December 2018 14:14, UK
Roger Federer began his season with a 6-1 6-1 thrashing of Great Britain's Cameron Norrie at the Hopman Cup in Perth.
Great Britain made a winning start to the tournament on Saturday but they were defeated by Switzerland on Sunday, after Federer won the opening singles rubber in just 57 minutes.
The 37-year-old Swiss is warming up for the Australian Open, which he has won for the last two years.
He had to save three break points in the opening game against Norrie but served his way out of trouble and was soon in complete control, as he raced into a 5-0 lead.
The Brit did manage to stave off two set points in the sixth game before opening his account for the match - and then earned a pair of break points in the next set, only for Federer to respond and close it out.
It was a similar story in the second set, as Norrie was unable to follow up his fine win over world No 15 Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece on Saturday.
Federer was looking sharp, crisply hitting the lines and moving around the court well, as he broke immediately at the start of set two and cruised through the rest of the match.
"This was a great start but obviously a long way to go here and in Melbourne [for the Australian Open]," Federer said.
"It's nice that I'm feeling as good as I am and played a wonderful match against Cameron.
"I wasn't missing my rhythm and it was perfect conditions, and I was happy with all aspects of my game.
"The footwork, the offensive play, serve, return, it was all there, so I think it was a great match for me."
Following Federer's win over Norrie, Switzerland wrapped up victory when Belinda Bencic beat Katie Boulter 6-2 7-6 in the second singles rubber.
Boulter was much improved in set two, but Bencic held serve to make it 6-6 and then raced through the tie-break, which she won 7-0.
And Switzerland completed a 3-0 whitewash when Federer and Bencic teamed up to beat Norrie and Boulter in the mixed doubles by a 4-3 (5-4) 4-1 scoreline.
We have every major tennis event covered from all angles via our website skysports.com/tennis. On the move? Head to our app for mobile devices and iPad, or follow our Twitter account @SkySportsTennis to join in the conversation.
