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Tensions were running high, the atmosphere was electric, and I was stressed out of my mind watching every point! Dinara was in the Russian box looking pretty dejected, while, at the other end, the Slovak box was as boisterous as ever. Apparently they had been like that or even worse during Slovakia's ties with Australia and the USA, and I know a lot of people in the crowd were not very impressed with the behaviour. Marat wasn't either, and complained to umpire Carlos Ramos, who eventually told the Slovak team to stop shouting out before Marat's serve. I hadn't really seen a team's box behave like that before. It's good that they are passionate about supporting their team mate and their country, and I know that sort of behaviour is almost the norm in Federation Cup and Davis Cup, but I think in this case, the Slovak box took it to a bit of an extreme, and the umpire should probably have intervened earlier than he did. But in any case, it all added a bit more drama to what was already a highly gripping situation! The third set continued as the other 2 had been - very little between the 2 players, and it was still impossible to pick the winner. Both players were holding serve relatively easily, and in the end, it came down to a tiebreak. Safin got down a mini-break from his very first serve, but he managed to recover it and even gain a mini-break for himself. However, a few errors from the Russian's racquet swung the match back into Hrbaty's favour, and in the end it was the Slovak who prevailed to eventually claim the match 6-7 7-5 7-6 and the Hopman Cup for his country. Woah, talk about 2 intense matches!! We were exhaused just from watching them! The presentation ceremony was held directly after the match, with the usual slightly-too-long-and-boring speeches from some of the sponsors, and also a word from Lucy Hopman, who is an inspiration to a lot of people at the event. It is amazing that, even in her 90s, she is able to make the trip from Miami to Perth every year, and the tournament certainly wouldn't be the same without her. Good on ya Lucy! For me, it was a shame that the Russians hadn't been able to win, because I think it would have been so nice to see the brother/sister combination win - it had only been done once before by Spain in 1990 with Emilio and Arantxa Sanchez. It was also Marat's 4th time here - he has supported the tournament a lot over the last 8 years, and it's a shame he only has a silver dish to show for it rather than one of those nice diamond balls. It is unlikely he will return, given his retirement plans, but, in case he or any of his people somehow read this: PLEASE DON'T RETIRE!!! And I know I speak for lots of tennis fans when I say this. The sport is definitely starved of people like him! Anyway, congratulations to the Slovaks who had put in some solid performances all week, and were able to hold their nerve better in the final. All in all, I think this Hopman Cup was one of the better ones, with a lot of really excellent matches. I will be heading to Melbourne for the first week of the Australian Open, and I look forward to posting my photos and reports when I get back!