Italy made a winning debut at the 2025 Hopman Cup in Bari, defeating defending champions Croatia in their opening tie. The team of Lucia Bronzetti and Flavio Cobolli secured victory after the two singles matches, giving local fans a perfect start at the Fiera del Levante.
Bronzetti (ITA) def. Vekic (CRO) 6–3, 4–6, 10–1
Lucia Bronzetti earned the first point for Italy with a determined performance against Donna Vekic. She dominated the opening set, jumping to a 4–0 lead thanks to deep returns and capitalizing on Vekic’s early errors. The Croatian fought back in the second, building a 5–2 lead and eventually forcing a deciding super tiebreak. There, Bronzetti regained control, racing to a 6–1 lead and closing it out 10–1.
“I knew it would be tough—she’s a strong opponent,” said Bronzetti. “But when you play for Italy, you always find something extra. Doing it in front of our fans made it even more special. We’ll need more of their support—it’s not over yet!”
Cobolli (ITA) def. Ajdukovic (CRO) 6–7(1), 6–4, 10–6
Flavio Cobolli followed with a hard-fought win over Duje Ajdukovic. After a tightly contested first set where the Croatian dominated the tiebreak 7–1, Cobolli raised his level. Despite some frustration, he broke Ajdukovic late in the second set and forced a deciding super tiebreak. After taking a 5–1 lead, Cobolli held off a comeback to close the match 10–6.
“I feel like a team player,” Cobolli said. “I love this format—it’s so fun. Lucia is amazing to play with. Now we’ll enjoy the mixed doubles without too much pressure and hopefully build on this for the rest of the competition.”
Mixed Doubles
The tie concluded with the mixed doubles match, giving the Italian pair a chance to test their chemistry in front of a lively home crowd, with the super tie-break ending with a win for Croatia 6-4, 2-6, 10-8.
