Roger Federer prevails in straight sets in Hopman Cup
Roger Federer continued preparation for his Australian Open title defense with a 6-3, 7-6 (8) win over Karen Khachanov at the Hopman Cup in Perth, helping give Switzerland a 2-0 win over Russia.
Federer’s playing partner, Belinda Bencic, beat Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 in a later women’s singles match Tuesday to give Switzerland its second consecutive win in Group B.
Federer, 36, had his service broken by his 21-year-old opponent in the opening game, but rebounded to break back immediately and won the opening set in 29 minutes.
Khachanov matched Federer impressively with backhand winners in the second set before a back-and-forth tiebreaker.