Perth: A first-round showdown between newly-engaged Lleyton Hewitt and Kim Clijsters will grab centre-stage in the $1m Hopman Cup starting here Saturday.
Australian favourite Hewitt and Belgian world No. 2 Clijsters go head-to-head in doubles of the prestigious mixed team event next Wednesday, barely a fortnight after revealing plans to tie the knot.
The match is already a sell-out and will be one of the highlights of a tournament which kicks off a series of events building up to the Jan. 19-Feb. 1 Australian Open, the first Grand Slam of 2004.
“We’re calling it the love match around here,” tournament director Paul McNamee said of the eagerly anticipated contest between Clijsters and Hewitt.
“Tickets for it sold out almost immediately. Everyone wants to see it. Kim is very popular with Australian crowds.”
McNamee said the match would also be pivotal for the competition with the winning mixed doubles team likely to secure a place in the final.
Clijsters is using the Hopman Cup, played on the rebound ace surface similar to that used in the Australian Open, as a springboard for the Open as she continues her quest for a first Grand Slam singles tournament win.
McNamee said it was impossible to split the top five of the eight countries in the tournament, which starts at the Burswood Dome on Saturday and includes four seeded nations, with reigning champions the United States ranked at the top.
“I think it’s wide open. There is absolutely nothing between the top five teams,” McNamee said.