The United Cup, the mixed team tennis competition, is about to begin. Playing in the name of the country, such a similar format always reminds us of the Hopman Cup, which created countless golden boys and girls. The Hopman Cup was co-founded by three Australian tennis players, Paul McNamee, Charlie Van Carter, and Pat Cash. The Hopman Cup is of course named in homage to Australian tennis legend Harry Hopman.
Harry Hopman (Harry Hopman) is a legendary star in Australian tennis, born in 1906, captained the Australian Davis Cup for nearly 30 consecutive years from 1938 to 1969, and won the Davis Cup 16 times, single-handedly creating the ** era of Australian tennis - 1950-1960s. Moreover, the well-known Rod Laver, Emerson (12 Grand Slams), McEnroe, Gomez, etc., were all Hopman**.
The original Hopman Cup was an invitation-only exhibition game. In 1989, the inaugural Hopman Cup was held in Australia, and until 2019, the tournament continued to be held at the beginning of each year. Later, in the ATP at the same time as the schedule, the ATP launched a men's team event with points - the ATP Cup, the Hopman Cup was disadvantaged, and the schedule was squeezed, coupled with the impact of the global environment, it had to be suspended from 2020 to 2022. In July 2023, the ITF began to resume hosting the Hopman Cup, moving from Australia to Nice, France, on clay courts, and after Wimbledon from the beginning of the year. Alcaraz and compatriot Masarova, who had just won Wimbledon against Djokovic, represented Spain in the restarted Hopman Cup, but Croatia won the title.
Initially, the three founders' dream was that the Hopman Cup would one day be on par with ITF's flagship team events, the men's Davis Cup and the women's Billie Jean King Cup. What is embarrassing is that the restarted Hopman Cup has fallen into a similar predicament as the Davis Cup - its influence has declined. In the face of the United Cup held at the beginning of the year, the Hopman Cup lost its uniqueness and competitiveness, and was trapped in the tight schedule and points pressure of tennis, and the future was bleak. The good news is that the operating company of the Hopman Cup will partner with the Nice Lawn Tennis Club for at least 5 years from 2023. Five years is a long time, and there may be a new way out.
Green Men's Net: Wu Di and Hopman Cup - Lost all six games, but how lucky!