Williams, Blake to defend US title at Hopman Cup
Thursday, 30 October 2008
PERTH, Oct 29 (AFP): Serena Williams will team with James Blake to defend the title she won at the Hopman Cup in January, organisers said Tuesday.
The return of world number three Williams, who is a two-time winner here and teamed with Mardy Fish to win the mixed teams title last January, is a coup for the tournament organisers.
Williams, who also paired with Blake to win the event in 2003 and has never been been beaten in Perth, used the Hopman Cup to launch a stellar 2008 campaign, culminating in the US Open win that saw her reclaim the number one ranking.
The 11th-ranked Blake is also a dual Hopman Cup winner, having teamed with Lindsay Davenport to win here in 2004.
The Americans will be top seeds and tournament organiser Paul McNamee said the return of Williams capped one of the best Hopman Cup fields.
"It is a high quality field," he said.
The return of world number three Williams, who is a two-time winner here and teamed with Mardy Fish to win the mixed teams title last January, is a coup for the tournament organisers.
Williams, who also paired with Blake to win the event in 2003 and has never been been beaten in Perth, used the Hopman Cup to launch a stellar 2008 campaign, culminating in the US Open win that saw her reclaim the number one ranking.
The 11th-ranked Blake is also a dual Hopman Cup winner, having teamed with Lindsay Davenport to win here in 2004.
The Americans will be top seeds and tournament organiser Paul McNamee said the return of Williams capped one of the best Hopman Cup fields.
"It is a high quality field," he said.