19 September 2016 | Tennis West
Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova and Rio gold medallist Jack Sock will join Swiss superstar Roger Federer and Belinda Bencic in Perth for the 29th staging of the Hopman Cup in January.
Kvitova, the 2012 Hopman Cup champion will partner with Adam Pavlasek for the Czech Republic.
Sock will be joined by Hopman Cup debutante Coco Vandeweghe for the United States.
Kvitova, a Rio singles bronze medallist and four-time Fed Cup winner is looking forward to returning to Western Australia for her third appearance.
The 26-year-old cherishes playing for her country at every opportunity.
“I always love to play the Hopman Cup. It’s a fun event for me and for us, the Czech Republic,” she said.
“You are guaranteed three matches, you play the mixed as well and it’s a fun team event, which I really like.
“It’s a big honour for me to play under the Czech Republic. Hopman Cup is something special as well. It is always something more you are playing for, not only for you but for the country you love and I always love to represent my country,” she added.
World No.80 Pavlasek will make his second appearance at the Hopman Cup after he played with Lucie Safarova in 2015.
The 21-year-old made his Grand Slam debut in May at the French Open and has reached four ATP Challenger finals, including a title in Prague earlier this year.
World No.24 Sock was the only tennis player to earn multiple medals at the Rio Olympics, winning gold in mixed doubles and bronze in the men’s doubles.
He’ll be looking to replicate his Olympic success with Vandeweghe in Perth.
“This year with Coco, we’ll have a really good time out there,” he said.
“We are both strong players, we can both do well on the singles court and we both have a lot of doubles experience.
“Perth is a beautiful city and this year we will definitely do some more exploring.”
World No.33 Vandeweghe is the eighteenth American woman to represent her country at the Hopman Cup.
The 24-year-old hails from a sporting family. Her mother was an Olympic swimmer and volleyballer and her grandfather played NBA basketball for the New York Knicks.
The right-hander is thrilled to be playing the tournament for the first time in 2017.
“I’ve heard so many great things about the Hopman Cup… having time to be immersed and be able to be around a bunch of Australians and the Australian culture in Perth,” she said.
“I hear it [the Hopman Cup] is really great preparation, you are getting to play a lot of matches.
“I love to compete, anytime I get to go out on the court and compete really hard, I enjoy my time,” she said.
Hopman Cup Tournament Director Paul Kilderry is excited to host the players in Perth.
“Petra Kvitova, a two-time Wimbledon champion is one of the best players on the tour and we are delighted to welcome her back to Perth, along with Adam Pavlasek, they’ll be a great team,” he said.
“We welcome Jack Sock and Coco Vandeweghe, two American rising stars, also to the Hopman Cup field. They join 17-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer and Belinda Bencic as the tournament continues to bring world-class tennis to Perth.
“We’ve also released the tournament’s schedule of play well in advance today to help fans plan their visit to the event.
“Joining Switzerland, Czech Republic and the United States in 2017 will be representatives from Australia, Great Britain, France, Spain and Germany.”
The full list of players will be released in early October.
2017 teams announced so far:
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Switzerland
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Roger Federer and Belinda Bencic
Adam Pavlasek and Petra Kvitova
Jack Sock and Coco Vandeweghe
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Czech Republic
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United States
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All session packages and final tickets are now available to purchase via Ticketek.
Premium ticketing packages are available via hopmancup.com/tickets/corporate-hospitality.
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Czech Republic – Petra Kvitova
United States – Jack Sock and Coco Vandeweghe
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Hopman Cup is the official mixed team competition of the ITF and is proudly supported locally by the State Government, through Tourism WA. The tournament will take place at Perth Arena from 1 to 7 January 2017.
Hopman Cup is part of the Emirates Australian Open Series, which also incorporates Brisbane International presented by Suncorp, Apia International Sydney, Hobart International and World Tennis Challenge (Adelaide).
Hopman Cup multi-session tickets will go on sale to the general public from 12.00 pm AWST Wednesday 5 October; single-session tickets will go sale to the general public from 12.00 pm AWST Wednesday 12 October.
For all tournament information please visit hopmancup.com.
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