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2018 Hopman Cup, December 31, 2017 Australia vs Canada, Men's Singles Perth Arena, Perth, WA Thanasi Kokkinakis vs Vasek Pospisil |
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Australia get their Hopman Cup campaign underway against Canada, with Thanasi Kokkinakis looking to make a strong start to his summer against the inconsistent but dangerous Vasek Pospisil. Join The Roar for live scores and coverage from around 2:30pm (AEDT).
This tie has two very even singles matches, with Daria Gavrilova taking on Eugenie Bouchard in the other one.
That puts an undue amount of pressure on Kokkinakis to start on the right foot. If he can pick up a win, then the worst Australia could do is get it to doubles in the third rubber. Lose though, and it could be a 2-0 beatdown from the Canadians.
Of course, the same applies to Pospisil.
Kokkinakis has only been back on the professional circuit for about eight months after going through countless injuries over the last few years.
He played two matches in a three-year period before his return just before last year’s French Open. The way he came back suggests he will once again return to top form in 2018 though, and he would love nothing more than to do that during his home tournaments.
The Australian Open is the pinnacle of the summer, but Kokkinakis will be keen to start coming up with results from his first match.
Pospisil is ranked outside the top 100, after two years of inconsistencies, but at one point had risen to No.25 in the world after playing in the quarter-finals at Wimbledon and the third round at the Australian Open during 2015.
Unlike the Australian, he can’t blame his poor form on injuries and will be looking to somehow get back to the top of his game in 2018 after winning just seven of his final 20 matches in 2017, with most of them in qualifying for tournaments.
Prediction
Kokkinakis showed plenty of impressive form in his return from injury last year and a full pre-season should leave him in good stead for the first time in many years. Pospisil isn’t a bad player by any stretch, but he might take a few matches to really get into his season, so don’t expect him to put an early one on the board for Canada.
Kokkinakis in three sets.
Be sure to join The Roar for live coverage of this Hopman Cup match from around 2:30pm (AEDT) and don’t forget to add a comment in the section below.