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Roger Federer, Serena Williams commit to Hopman Cup mixed teams event

PERTH, Australia -- Serena Williams and Roger Federer have committed to play in the Hopman Cup mixed teams event in late December while former Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber and Alexander Zverev will represent Germany.

Frances Tiafoe will be Williams' partner for the United States, while Belinda Bencic will again represent Switzerland with Federer to defend the title they won in January over Kerber and Zverev in the final.

Williams and Federer are scheduled to play mixed doubles against each other when the U.S. meets Switzerland on Jan. 1.

The eight-country tournament is scheduled from Dec. 29 to Jan. 5 on indoor hard courts at Perth Arena. It's used by the players as a tuneup event for the Australian Open, which begins Jan. 14 in Melbourne.

Teams announced Wednesday:

Australia: Matthew Ebden and Ashleigh Barty

France: Lucas Pouille and Alize Cornet

Germany: Alexander Zverev and Angelique Kerber

Britain: Cameron Norrie and Katie Boulter

Greece: Stefanos Tsitsipas and Maria Sakkari

Spain: David Ferrer and Garbine Muguruza

Switzerland: Roger Federer and Belinda Bencic

United States: Frances Tiafoe and Serena Williams