Switzerland defeat Germany at Hopman Cup

Sydney, Jan 6 (IANS) Roger Federer has become the first tennis player in history to win three Hopman Cup trophies after Switzerland snatched victory from Germany 2-1 in the final at the RAC Arena here.

The 20-time Grand Slam champion was in scintillating form as he dispatched World No.4 Alexander Zverev in straight sets 6-4 6-2 on Saturday, Xinhua news agency reported.

"I'm happy I'm feeling this good and playing as well as I am," he said.

"It's good to finish on a singles performance like this. I'm a bit surprised that the matches have gone as well as they have."

In the women's category, Germany evened things up when World No.2 Angelique Kerber outgunned Swiss hitter Belinda Bencic in a gripping contest 6-4 7-6(6).

With the tournament now in the balance at 1-1, it all came down the mixed doubles pairing.

Smashing their way through the first set 4-0, Federer and Bencic looked like they would breeze past the Germans however Zverev and Kerber returned fire, taking the second set from the Swiss combo 4-1.

Going down to the final point in the Fast4 format, Switzerland survived a match point in the third set tie-break and managed to snatch the historic win 4-0 1-4 4-3 (4).

When asked to reflect on his incredible achievement, Federer said "I'm very happy about these records, but I didn't come here for that."

"What a thrill it was, not just the match point, but also the whole match and the whole week."

"It's great fun. I'm happy, I'm proud to represent my country. It's been a super pleasure teaming with Belinda," he added.

Federer first won the Hopman Cup back in 2001 against the U.S. when he was paired win Martina Hingis, he then claimed his second title alongside Bencic last year also against Germany.