• Federer eases to 6-1, 6-1 win over Cameron Norrie in Perth • Bencic beats Katie Boulter 6-2, 7-6 to seal Swiss victory

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Roger Federer outplayed Great Britain’s Cameron Norrie 6-1, 6-1 to secure a winning start for the defending champions Switzerland at the Hopman Cup in Perth on Sunday .

Gearing up for his Australian Open title defence, Federer overcame three break points in his opening service game before rediscovering his rhythm to race to a 5-0 lead.

With 18 winners and four aces, Federer wrapped up the opening set in 31 minutes as Norrie struggled to match Federer’s crisp stroke-making.

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Federer’s playing partner Belinda Bencic beat Katie Boulter 6-2, 7-6 in the women’s contest to clinch Switzerland’s victory in the round-robin stage.

The 37-year-old Federer, has won the last two Australian Open titles after taking part in the mixed-team tournament in Perth. “This was a great start but obviously there’s a long way to go here and in Melbourne,” the world No 3 said. “It’s nice I’m feeling as good as I am and played a wonderful match against Cameron.”

Switzerland play USA on New Year’s Day, with Federer, a 20-times grand slam winner, set to play the 23-times grand slam winner Serena Williams in the mixed doubles. The match pits arguably the two greatest players of all time against each other in their first contest on court.

Norrie, the world No 91, beat the Greek world No 15 Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets for the biggest win of his career on Saturday. Great Britain return to Hopman Cup action on Thursday.

“I admire everything she has done both on and off the court,” Federer said. “I have always thought how is it to return that serve and go head-to-head with her.

“It’s very exciting for us. I hope tennis fans tune in and watch it because it’s going to be one time and probably never again in this type of competition.

“I don’t know her that well. I only know her from some champions’ dinners at Wimbledon. We have busy lives and a big entourage, so it’s rare to really deep dive. We can relate to each other more so now, being parents.”

Last year’s runners-up Germany made a triumphant return when Alexander Zverev and Angelique Kerber recorded hard-fought victories in their singles matches.

Coming off a title win at the season-ending ATP Finals in London, Zverev countered his 45 unforced errors with 39 winners and eight aces to beat Spain’s David Ferrer 6-4, 4-6, 7-6.

After the match, Zverev paid tribute to former world No 3, who will retire next year at the age of 36. “All the credit is [to] David, coming back from a set down and break down,” Zverev said.

“He is the greatest fighter, maybe, that we have ever seen in tennis. What he has done in tennis over the past 15 or 20 years has been absolutely amazing.”

Kerber, the world No 2, beat Garbiñe Muguruza 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 to end a five-match losing streak against the two-times grand slam winner.