Hopman Cup: Canada claims historic first title with Bianca Andreescu and Felix Auger-Aliassime

Bianca Andreescu and Felix Auger-Aliassime have given Canada its first ever Hopman Cup title, after securing victory in the mixed doubles final against Italy's Flavio Cobolli and Lucia Bronzetti with a 6-3, 6-3 scoreline. The North American duo formed a formidable partnership over the past few days, defeating the home team and ensuring Canada's inaugural cup win.

In the day's first match, former US Open champion Andreescu had secured a win against Lucia Bronzetti, but then Auger-Aliassime failed to close out the tie, falling to Cobolli in a third-set tie-break, sending everything to the mixed doubles. The Canadians then delivered a convincing victory and were crowned champions of the traditional mixed team nations cup's latest edition.

In the opening match of the day, former World No. 4 Bianca Andreescu once again opened for the Canadians with a victory. Andreescu – currently ranked World No. 185 – showed that when she is physically well, she is almost unstoppable and delivered a remarkable performance to overcome Bronzetti (No. 64). The 25-year-old was superb with an 82% first-serve percentage, winning 64% of those points, while Bronzetti was lower at 65%, winning 56% of hers.

One of the keys was the consistency with which Andreescu managed to return points, especially when Bronzetti served her second ball. Andreescu converted 6 out of 9 break points in her favor, while Bronzetti could only convert 2 out of 5 break opportunities. Like throughout the entire tournament, Andreescu was unstoppable, losing a total of just 9 games in her three singles matches, while winning 36 – meaning 80% of the games played fell into her hands.

Felix Auger-Aliassime had also been undefeated in the tournament, not conceding a set in his wins against Roberto Bautista Agut and Stefanos Tsitsipas. The former World No. 6 seems to be reconnecting with his tennis ahead of a challenging hardcourt swing and faced a tricky opponent in Flavio Cobolli, a recent Wimbledon quarterfinalist and currently World No. 10. The Italian had to replace the injured Lorenzo Musetti and performed well throughout the tournament, being key to the home team reaching the final.

Precisely, the European player won this time, after squandering a couple of set points in the first set, he ended up securing the victory in the 10-point tie-break played in place of a third set, taking the match 6-7(7-9), 7-5, [10-8]. Cobolli struggled with his serve, hitting a total of 10 double faults, although he managed to win 74% of his first-serve points against his opponent's 71%. There were three breaks for Auger-Aliassime and four for Cobolli, who ultimately secured the win, taking 5 of the last six points played.

Everything came down to the mixed doubles, where the same protagonists returned to the court to determine the new Hopman Cup champion. Serving was almost impeccable from both sides: a 98% first serve for the Italians and a 91% first serve for the Canadians, showing strong serving from both teams to maintain a tight contest. However, in crucial moments, it was the Canadians who stepped up, especially considering these were games played without 'advantage' (a golden point was played to decide the game at 0-40).

Auger-Aliassime and Andreescu comfortably took the first set after gaining an early lead, and then in the second, they capitalized on the pressure on their opponents to win the last four games consecutively. On their first match point, Andreescu and Auger-Aliassime secured a 6-3, 6-3 victory and Canada's first ever Hopman Cup title. Previously, in all their prior appearances, the Canadians had been eliminated in the Round Robin stage.