New Year's day shapes up as a GOAT fest Down Under.
Iconic champions Roger Federer and Serena Williams will square off for the first time in Hopman Cup play when Switzerland plays the United States in Perth, Australian on January 1st.
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Williams will partner 20-year-old Frances Tiafoe for the United States, while Federer and Belinda Bencic reprise their partnership leading reigning champion Switzerland.
Federer and Bencic beat German's Alexander Zverev and Angelique Kerber to capture the 2018 Hopman Cup in January. That title run came 17 years after Martina Hingis and Federer joined forces to win Hopman Cup.
Serena partnered Mardy Fish to the 2008 Hopman Cup championship five years after she paired with James Blake to claim the 2003 championship.
In an interview with Wall Street Journal Magazine earlier this year, Federer called Serena the greatest of all time.
"It’s been fascinating to watch," Federer said of Williams' career. "She had a totally different upbringing—I came up through Switzerland with the federation—she did it with her dad and her sister. It’s an amazing story unto itself—and then she became one of the greatest, if not the greatest tennis player of all time.”
Asked if he was citing Serena as the greatest female player of all time, the 20-time Grand Slam champion reiterated he regards Williams as the greatest "overall" player of all time.
Williams returns to Hopman Cup as part of her preparation for the 2019 Australian Open where she plays to equal Margaret Court's all-time record and win her 24th career Grand Slam title.
"I always enjoy playing in Western Australia in front of the crowd at Perth Arena," Williams told HopmanCup.com. "The Aussie fans are so warm and supportive and the Hopman Cup always gives me a great start to the season, especially ahead of the Australian Open.
“I haven’t played with Frances in mixed doubles before, but have watched him from a far this year. He has a very bright future and I’m looking forward to being on court with him, it will be a lot of fun.”
Photo credit: Wimbledon Facebook