Greece’s Hopman Cup duo, Maria Sakkari and Stefanos Tsitsipas will undertake the tough task of reviving the country’s title hopes in Monday’s, 31 December, game facing USA’s Serena Williams and Frances Tiafoe.

The challenging match follows the loss Tsitsipas and Sakkari suffered last Saturday at Perth’s RAC Arena in a decisive mixed double against Great Britain’s Cameron Norrie and Katie Boulter.

Previously, Norrie – currently sitting at the world’s No.91 – had won a straight sets victory over the world No. 15 tennis star Tsitsipas, but Sakkari managed to save the day beating Boulter 6-0 4-6 6-2 in the women’s singles rubber leveling the tie.

But the Great Britain duo managed to prevail in the mixed doubles match capitalising on the winner-takes-all point in the third-set tiebreak.

Greece lost the last crucial point when Tsitsipas sent his backhand into the net, while after the game Sakkari revealed she initially thought a two-point lead in the tiebreak was needed for the win.

The twenty-three-year-old said she only realised the game was over after seeing her team’s opponents celebrating their win.

Meanwhile, Tsitsipas, who committed several unforced mistakes cashed in by Norrie during their singles match, has admitted he struggled with heat during the game.

“It was tough to adjust from the very beginning.
“Cameron played really well, but I really felt uncomfortable, I don’t know why. Probably because of the weather conditions. The heat here – it’s a bit different. It’s tougher conditions than Dubai where I was preparing. I feel like I’m getting tired easily, which I’m not happy with because I’ve been working really hard in the off-season,” Tsitsipas said.

For Greece, this year’s participation in Hopman Cup is the second one marking a much-awaited return after a 17-years’ hiatus.

The country was drawn into Group B teams with USA, Switzerland and Great Britain, while Group A consists of hosts Australia along with Germany, France and Spain.

Greece’s imminent opponent, USA, has won the most titles, the last one being in 2011.