World No.2 Roger Federer has set his sights on Hopman Cup glory after guiding Switzerland into Saturday's final.
Switzerland secured their spot in the decider of the mixed-teams event after Federer and Belinda Bencic won their singles matches against America on Thursday night.
Federer beat Jack Sock 7-6 (7-5) 7-5 in front of a record Hopman Cup crowd of 14,029 at Perth Arena, before Bencic defeated world No.10 CoCo Vandeweghe 7-6 (8-6) 6-4.
Germany, boasting world No.4 Alexander Zverev, will also qualify for the final if they beat Australia on Friday.
If they lose, it will open the door for Belgium to sneak in.
Federer was just 19 when he won the Hopman Cup in 2001 alongside then world No.1 Martina Hingis.
He narrowly missed out on making the final with Bencic last year, but now has the chance to add a second Hopman crown to his bulging trophy cabinet.
"That would be special," Federer said.
"It would be lovely to win again."
Bencic was thrilled to make the decider.
"We were so close last year. I am relieved we made it," Bencic said.
Sock, who retired from his singles match against Japan on Tuesday with a hip injury, put up a good fight against Federer in the opening set, sending it to a tiebreak.
The two players had enjoyed some playful banter up until that point, and it continued in the tiebreak when Federer climbed over the net to help lift up Sock after the American took a tumble.
Federer won the tiebreak, and secured the crucial break in the 11th game of the second set following an epic rally that had the Swiss scrambling to all parts of the court.
"All I remember was the last two shots - the pick up on the backhand, and the forehand on the run down the line where he ends up not making the volley," Federer said.
"But the stuff before that is a blur - I don't remember a thing. Jack's reaction was classic too."
Sock said he didn't feel too far away from taking at least a set off Federer.
"You got to play high quality against him or else you are going to get dusted, and it's going to be pretty embarrassing out there," Sock said.
"You better bring your best stuff or it's no fun playing him. I thought I served well today for the most part.
"He came up with an unbelievable point to break in the second set."
Share
