Borna Coric and Donna Vekic from Croatia won the revived Hopman Cup that was held in Nice, France, from July 19th to 23rd, 2023.
Taking place in the picturesque city of Nice, France, the event has ended a years-long hiatus, returning back to the ATP & WTA calendars. The tournament even saw the men's World No. 1, Carlos Alcaraz, compete, but it wasn't Spain that walked away with the trophy.
The Croatian duo of Coric and Vekic, a pair that has shared almost two decades of friendship, were the best at the event, clinching their nation's first Hopman Cup win in nearly 30 years with a commanding 2-0 win against Switzerland in Sunday's final.
Coric and Vekic demonstrated stellar form, achieving clean victories over their Swiss counterparts, Leandro Riedi and Celine Naef, respectively. Vekic started the proceedings with a controlled performance, overpowering Naef 6-3, 6-4, which set the stage for Coric to secure the title with a 6-1, 6-4 win against Riedi.
This victory is undoubtedly a testament to the camaraderie between Coric and Vekic, who despite confessing to having never played mixed doubles together prior to this event, managed to save match points in a nail-biting 1-6, 6-4, 14-12 mixed doubles match against Carlos Alcaraz and Rebeka Masarova. Their triumph against Spain, along with a solid performance against Belgium, paved their way to the final showdown with Switzerland.
In their victory speech, the Croatian pair acknowledged the journey they had embarked upon. Coric, who was the one that recorded the second victory of the day, said that it was pleasure to compete alongside Vekic.
"When we came here, we were both not playing our best tennis, and we never played mixed doubles. We were not sure how it was going to play out, but we were very happy that we were playing, and it was my pleasure to be here with [her]."
Vekic echoed the sentiment in the tribute to her partner. The two get along really well, and their performance on the court during the 2023 Hopman Cup was an undeniable proof of that.
"Borna, it was really a lot of fun playing with you. We've known each other for almost 20 years, and we've never played doubles before now. So far, we're unbeaten. I'm a little bit sad we didn't have another chance today!"
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