Australians Bernard Tomic and Samantha Stosur have agreed to represent their home country at the Hopman Cup tournament which takes place in Perth by the end of this year.
Stosur, the 2011 US Open champion, is currently ranked 11th in the world while Tomic is ranked 52nd in the ATP Tour.
The host nation has not won the mixed tournament since 1999 when Jelena Dokic and Mark Philippoussis emerged as victors. The last time Australia reached the final was in 2003 when Alicia Molik and Lleyton Hewitt lost to Serena Williams and James Blake of United States.
As of writing, only three countries have signed up for the 26th season of the Hopman Cup. Aside from the above-mentioned, Poland and France will be joining a very tough field.
The Polish team will be led by fourth-ranked Agnieszka Radwanska and Wimbledon 2013 semifinalist Jerzy Janowicz. The French will be represented by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and an undetermined partner as of the moment. Originally, it was Wimbledon 2013 champion Marion Bartoli who will partner with Tsonga but with the sudden retirement of the seventh-ranked player, the French team is now looking for a replacement.
The Hopman Cup will run from December 28, 2013 to January 4, 2014 at the Perth Arena and is a great warm-up tournament before the Australian Open 2014 tournament.
