Can Nick Kyrgios and Daria Gavrilova get their title defence off to a good start when they take on Spain’s Feliciano Lopez and Lara Arruabarrena? Join The Roar from 8:30pm (AEDT) for live coverage.
Kyrgios and Gavrilova took the win in last year’s Hopman Cup, and for Gavrilova in particular it turned out to be a breakout tournament as she went on to win through to the fourth round at the Australian Open, her best performance at a Grand Slam event to date.
The pair will be keen not only to defend their title and possibly become the first pairing ever to successfully go back-to-back at the Hopman Cup, but also to build a solid string of form as a launching pad for hopefully more success at the Australian Open.
To do that, they’ll need to get past Spain’s Feliciano Lopez and Lara Arruabarrena. This doubles match will decide the match-up between the two nations, and will be played under ‘Fast 4’ rules.
The match comes after the two nations split the honours in the first two legs of this match-up, forcing the need for a deciding doubles game.
Kyrgios was in dominant form in his match against Feliciano Lopez and able to do away with him fairly easily, winning the match 6-3, 6-4 in strong form.
However, Daria Gavrilova wasn’t able to hold up her end of the bargain against Lara Arruabarrena, pushing her in the first set (5-7) before falling away completely in the second (1-6).
Only one of these two nations can win, so who is it going to be?
Prediction
Australia should finish off this meeting with a win and move on into the second round – Kyrgios’ quality form should get them over the line.
Join The Roar from 8:30pm (AEDT) for live coverage.
Riley Pettigrew
Roar Guru
That concludes The Roar's coverage of Australia vs Spain. Lara Arruabarrena has helped Spain to knock off the defending champions 2-1. Up next for Australia are the Czech Republic (Adam Pavlasek/Lucie Hradecka) who lost 2-0 to the USA. A special thanks to Josh Elliot for coordinating tonight's blogs and the entire Summer of Tennis. I'll be back tomorrow as Bernard Tomic and Samantha Stosur make their first appearances of 2017 at the Brisbane International. Thanks for following along.
Riley Pettigrew
Roar Guru
FINAL Spain have won the tie, casting doubt over the defending champion's credentials and opening up Group B. Australia 0 2 Spain 4 4
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Match point, Gavrilova at the net makes the unforced error. Spain win Australia 0 2 Spain 4 4
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Kyrgios overplays the shot, deuce Australia 0 2 40 Spain 4 3 40
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Kyrgios double faults Australia 0 2 40 Spain 4 3 30
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Kyrgios hits an ace past Arruabarrena Australia 0 2 40 Spain 4 3 15
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Gavrilova at the net, hits it too deep Australia 0 2 30 Spain 4 3 15
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Spain with another error, Australia looking to force the tiebreaker Australia 0 2 30 Spain 4 3 0
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Kyrgios on serve, Lopez forces the error Australia 0 2 15 Spain 4 3 0
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Lopez hits the let, catches Kyrgios off guard. Spain hold Australia 0 2 Spain 4 3
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Lopez with plenty of spin off service, Gavrilova forces the error Australia 0 2 0 Spain 4 2 40
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Lopez on serve, Gavrilova struggling against the Spaniard. Australia 0 2 0 Spain 4 2 30
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Spain break serve, 2-2. Australia 0 2 Spain 4 2
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Gavrilova struggling on serve, but Kyrgios hits the winner Australia 0 2 15 Spain 4 1 1 40
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Gavrilova on serve, Spain with the early point Australia 0 2 0 Spain 4 1 1 15
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Kyrgios hits the winner, Australia break serve. Australia 0 2 Spain 4 1
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Gavrilova with the forehand volley at the net, Lopez forces the error Australia 0 1 40 Spain 4 1 1 15
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Lopez calls the challenge, unsuccessful Australia 0 1 30 Spain 4 1 1 15
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Lopez hits the winner past Gavrilova Australia 0 1 15 Spain 4 1 1 15
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Arruabarrena on serve, they make the early error Australia 0 1 15 Spain 4 1 1 0