ONE of the most unique tennis tournaments which features both ATP Tour and WTA Tour players is the Hopman Cup. Given the world circumstance and the fact it was already skipped on the eve of last year, it looks to be either delayed later in 2021, or perhaps at the turn of the New Year in 2022. However, in this new series we wanted to look at some hypothetical Hopman Cup teams and what they might look like if there was no COVID-19 pandemic, and if the famed mixed tournament did go ahead.

We continue the series with Italy and Germany who have some serious up-and-talent coming talent as well as some future stars who would be amongst the top teams in the hypothetical Hopman Cup competition.

Italy: Jannik Sinner & Camila Giorgi

This Italian team would have no shortage of players to pick from, particularly from the ATP Tour side, but it would be hard to look past Next Gen rising star Jannik Sinner fresh off his first ATP Tour title this year. The 19-year-old became the youngest winner on Tour when he took out the title in Sofia, which capped off his year at 19-11 after an 11-10 previous record on the ATP Tour. He would be the first choice to excite the crowd on the indoor hard courts, but that is not to take away from Top 10 player, Matteo Berrettini and fellow talent Fabio Fognini. Lorenzo Sonego who most famously destroyed Novak Djokovic in October, would be another astute choice, all of whom rank inside the Top 40.

From the WTA Tour, Camila Giorgi is the top ranked Italian and deserves the first-up crack if offered a spot at the Hopman Cup. While the women’s Tour does not have as many strong top-end talents as the ATP Tour for Italy, Giorgi is a solid player who reached the Top 30 at her best a couple of years ago and has won a couple of titles in her career. The 28-year-old is getting on in her career, with former Top 5 player Sara Errani also thereabouts. Italian teenager Elisabetta Cocciaretto might be a good shout if they wanted to blood a youngster, but she would be an exciting pick to team up with fellow 19-year-old Sinner.

Germany: Alexander Zverev & Angelique Kerber

With two genuine A-Graders at their best, Germany would be a formidable opponent in the Hopman Cup and there are no better choices than the two top ranked players on the Tours. Alexander Zverev would be the standout choice for the men’s spot, as an impressive indoor hard court player and the youngest of the Top 100 Germans at 23-years-old. Ranked seventh in the world and a US Open runner-up this year, Zverev took a step forward in terms of his Grand Slams performance and would start the season off strongly with a nice warm-up event at the hypothetical event. Others who might be considered are 36th ranked 30-year-old Jan-Lennard Struff and 66th ranked 26-year-old Dominik Koepfer.

The WTA Tour has some lower ranked options, which makes Angelique Kerber the standout choice. While the 32-year-old is in the twilight of her career, she is a proven performer at Grand Slam level. What makes the Zverev-Kerber pairing much more likely is that they competed in the 2019 event, so are happy to take to the court at the Hopman Cup. Outside of Kerber, the next three Germans are also 30-plus, with Laura Siegemund (50th, 32-year-old), Andrea Petkovic (102nd, 33) and Tatjana Maria (109th, 33) all having the experience against a wide variety of opponents.

Picture: Tennis World USA