ITF

France captured its first Hyundai Hopman Cup title in the 26-year history of the competition with a 2-1 victory over first-time finalist Poland. It was an exciting climax to an event held for the second time at the impressive Perth Arena, which has already proved a big hit with audiences. Poland, who was seeded No. 1, was dealt a blow at the start of the event after the withdrawal of rising star Jerzy Janowicz, but his replacement Grzegorz Panfil defied a ranking of No. 288 to partner Agnieszka Radwanska to the final. Playing in Group A, the team started with a 3-0 victory over Italy, before recording 2-1 deciding mixed doubles wins over Canada and Australia. In Group B, third seed France, featuring Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Alize Cornet, also needed a deciding mixed doubles for 2-1 victories over Czech Republic and USA, before sealing its place in the final with a 3-0 triumph over Spain. It was France who made the stronger start in the final, with Tsonga overcoming Panfil 63 36 63, before Radwanska overcame Cornet 63 67(3) 62 to level proceedings. However Tsonga and Cornet were too strong in the mixed doubles and clinched the title 60 62. John Isner and Sloane Stephens, Radek Stepanek and Petra Kvitova, Milos Raonic and Eugenie Bouchard, and Bernard Tomic and Samantha Stosur were among the other leading names taking part. They were joined by over 84,000 fans during the week, making it the second highest attendance ever. For the first time in the history of the event, every session was broadcast live and free to air in high definition on Channel 7's PROFESSIONAL TENNIS: HYUNDAI HOPMAN CUP 13 HYUNDAI HOPMAN CUP digital channel 7mate. Global television coverage also increased significantly, with over 1900 hours of action shown by 15 broadcasters in over 100 territories. The Hopman Cup website also attracted record numbers with 350,000 visitors during the week, while both the Hopman Cup's Twitter and Facebook channels saw strong growth in 2014. The event also attracted over seven million Australian dollars worth of national media exposure. Prior to the event the Hyundai Hopman Cup Trophy Tour took place activating in five key communities, at local schools and tennis clubs across Australia. Title sponsor Hyundai was joined by major sponsors Eventscorp and Amcom and platinum sponsors NAB, City of Perth, Crown Perth and Live2Learn. 84,000 FANS CAME TO WATCH HOPMAN CUP IN 2014

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