Past Results - Hopman Cup I (28th Dec - 1st Jan 1989)
There was an uncanny air of expectancy about the first match of
Hopman Cup I. December 28, 1988 was the dateline with tennis history
as the crowds surged through the doors of what was then known as
the Burswood Superdome – now shortened to Burswood Dome.
The build-up had been tremendous; after all, this was the first
real dose of big-time international tennis in Perth since the mid-1970s
when some of the men’s top players tackled an indoor event
at the Perth Entertainment Centre.
And the Queen of Tennis, world No. 1 and Wimbledon winner Steffi
Graf was headlining the star-studded bill.
The Perth fans had eight countries represented by a leading male
and female player and it was all new ... the venue was being tested
for tennis for the first time; the lighting was very crucial to the
success; the court had been laid into the concrete floor; the temporary
grandstands were camouflaged to look permanent, the VIP and sponsors
boxes were dressed up magnificently.
So enter Pat Cash, Australia’s Wimbledon champion of a year
earlier and a man on whom the nation had hung its tennis hat for
the previous 18 months.
Partnered by adopted Aussie Hana Mandlikova, the host nation was
first up on the centre court, in battle with Great Britain, the mother
country, but this time put onto the sidelines with a speedy 2-1 result,
courtesy of a Cash blitz on Jeremy Bates, even though the local idol
dropped the middle set.
The big attraction about the Hopman Cup was the mixed doubles and
up came Cash and Mandlikova to seal the match with a straight-sets
win over Bates and British teenager Sarah Loosemore, who went on
to beat Mandlikova in the "dead rubber."
So Australia was the first country to win a Hopman Cup fixture.
They were followed by top seeds Czechoslovakia, with Miloslav Mecir
and Helena Sukova downing Shuzo Matsuoka and Masako Yanagi 2-1; Swedish
pair Mikael Pernfors and Catarina Lindqvist disposed of Yugoslavia’s
Slobodan Zivojinovic and Carmen Skulj 3-0 and West Germany’s
super-star attraction Graf combined with Patrick Kuhnen to beat French
duo Pascale Paradis and Thierry Tulasne.
That put the top four seeded teams through to the semi-finals where
Czechoslovakia beat Sweden 2-1, with the colourful Pernfors displaying
tennis prowess as well as entertainment value to beat Mecir, ranked
No. 4 in the world at that stage. It was something of an upset win
in the singles 6-3, 6-2, but the crowd loved the loveable Pernfors.
In the end, the Czechs were too good in the doubles 6-3, 7-5 and
Sukova clinched the Tie with a 6-3, 6-2 scoreline against Lindqvist.
The Aussies were then up against the West Germans, with Queen Steffi
declaring that Cash’s powerful service didn’t frighten
her. Australia won a thriller, with Graf winning the women’s
but then the Aussie pair atoned in the mixed — and it wasn’t
so much Cash’s service that worried Graf, but his returns;
the best woman in the world failed to hold service once in four attempts
in the mixed. Cash then banked the money by taking the men’s
in straight sets, even though he was forced to 11 points to nine
in the second-set tie-breaker.
Cash was a comeback man, after being out of the game for almost
a year and he rated his victory against Kuhnen as a “10 out
of 10” effort considering his lack of match practice.
So into the final and what an organiser’s dream — the
top seeds earning their status, but up against the host country,
with another full house of 8000 screaming fans urging them on. The
dream was spoilt, however, as the seedings proved correct, with Sukova
beating Mandlikova and while the scoreline showed a 6-4, 6-3 result,
the adopted Aussie had her chances. But her service simply didn’t
work; eight double faults confirmed that.
The Czechs were too strong in the mixed; where Cash was obviously
suffering from illness. He looked listless and later complained of
dizziness and the final “dead rubber” between Cash and
Mecir was aborted.
It was a fascinating week, with a total of almost 38,000 people
attending the seven sessions, with $100,000 going to the winners
and $50,000 to the runners-up.
Burswood Resort had proved a winner as far as a venue went; the
players loved the complex and all its facilities and the tennis produced
plenty of spirited competition and fierce battles — especially
when hard-hitting players like Cash declared that any female on the
other side of the net was a fair target!
The reaction of the nation’s press to the inaugural event
was interesting.
All the leading tennis writers had invaded Perth for what they initially
thought would be a relaxing week’s holiday at a fabulous resort.
But the quality of the tennis; the consistency of the big crowds
and the sheer professionalism of the event and the players kept them
busy .... especially with their glowing reports on the brilliant
introduction of the Hopman Cup to the world circuit.
Results
HOPMAN CUP I (28 December 1988 - 1 January 1989)
Seeds:
1. Czechoslovakia: Miloslav Mecir/Helena Sukova
2. Australia: Pat Cash/Hana Mandlikova
3. West Germany: Patrik Kuhnen/Steffi Graf
4. Sweden: Mikael Pernfors/Catarina Lindqvist
Unseeded:
France: Thierry Tulasne/Pascale Paradis
Yugoslavia: Slobodan Zivojinovic/Carmen Skulj
Japan: Shuzo Matsuoka/Masako Yanagi
Great Britain: Jeremy Bates/Sarah Loosemore
Final:
Czechoslovakia d. Australia 2-0:
Helena Sukova defeated Hana Mandlikova 6-4 6-3;
Mecir/Sukova defeated Cash/Mandlikova 6-2 6-4
Semi Finals:
Czechoslovakia d. Sweden 2-1:
Mikael Pernfors defeated Miloslav Mecir 6-3 6-2;
Mecir/Sukova defeated Pernfors/Lindqvist 6-3 7-5;
Helena Sukova defeated Catarina Lindqvist 6-3 6-2.
Australia d. West Germany 2-1:
Steffi Graf defeated Hana Mandlikova 6-0 6-1;
Cash/Mandlikova defeated Graf/Kuhnen 6-4 6-2;
Pat Cash defeated Patrik Kuhnen 7-3 7-6.
First Round:
Australia d. Great Britain 2-1:
Pat Cash defeated Jeremy Bates 6-4 1-6 6-3;
Cash/Mandlikova defeated Bates/Loosemore 6-4 7-5;
Sarah Loosemore defeated Hana Mandlikova 6-1 6-2.
Czechoslovakia d. Japan 2-1:
Shuzo Matsuoka defeated Miloslav Mecir 6-2 6-4;
Mecir/Sukova defeated Matsuoka/Yanagi 7-5 6-3;
Helena Sukova defeated Masako Yanagi 7-5 6-3.
Sweden d. Yugoslavia 3-0:
Mikael Pernfors defeated Slobodan Zivojinovic 6-4 6-3;
Pernfors/Lindqvist defeated Zivojinovic/Skulj 6-7 6-3 6-2;
Catarina Lindqvist defeated Carmen Skulj 6-2 6-3.
West Germany d. France 3-0:
Steffi Graf defeated Pascale Paradis 6-2 6-1;
Kuhnen/Graf defeated Tulasne/Paradis 7-6 7-5;
Patrik Kuhnen defeated Thierry Tulasne 7-6 7-5.
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