A magical week for Bali family in Perth Australia watching several historic matches.

Bali news and views editor's comments:

From right son Xander and Darius wife Azizah and I Hopman Cup 2019

In a few hours we will be flying back to Bali from Perth, Australia after a 10 day Christmas new year vacation.

My prime reason for coming here was to see Roger Federer play live for the first time in my life. Over the past five years I missed him at grand slam tournaments in London, Paris and Melbourne when he dropped out of tournaments earlier than the tickets I had. 

So I was determined to see him before he retired. After all he is 37 years old, has already won 20 grand slam tournaments and is arguably the best male player that ever played.

I assume that he has earned over 200 Million dollars in winnings and endorsements so you have to ask yourself why does he continue? As he says it's the love of the game. I assume like anybody he doesn't like to lose and it shows when he plays.

It was a dream come true when last Saturday night he walked onto the court and there he was my tennis hero, right in front of me for the first time in my life. He quickly defeated his opponent at that time.

My wife Azizah and I started off our 2019 year properly with an historic match when Roger paired off with his mixed doubles partner against the greatest woman that ever played Serena Williams and her American partner.

He won that match as well and at the end they took a famous selfie that will truly be an historic photo.

Historic match between Serena Williams and Roger Federer.
 the first time they ever played against each other January 1, 2019

Throughout the week it became evident that his major opponent for singles and doubles was going to be the Germans led by young 21-year-old Alexander Zverev who is ranked in the top five in the world.

Alexander Zverev

Last night was the finals and Federer barely managed to hold off the young Zverev to win the men's singles finals. Then Federer's partner went off to lose against the German woman's singles player.

At first it looked like the finals between Germany and Switzerland would be a rollover when the Swiss masters strokes led to a first set win but then the Germans came back. In fact they fought to the very end.

Along the way I managed to get within 5 m of Roger to take what will be my historic memory.

Lawrence with Federer in the Background

My Family including Wife Azizah and two sons Xander and Darius were shocked at one point point when a photo of them was shown on the TV world wide after Azizah posted it on Instagram.

Instagram photo of family shown around the world during Hopman cup finals

All in all the family enjoyed Perth immensely including walks on the beach visits to the the Serpentine Falls, Science Museum, shopping and of course the Hopman cup tennis tournament which may not continue after this year.

Roger Federer wins record third Hopman Cup as Switzerland beats Germany in Perth
Updated about 8 hours ago

Roger Federer has won the Hopman Cup for a record third time after Switzerland beat Germany in a winner-takes-all point.

Key points:
Swiss tennis great Roger Federer has now won the Hopman Cup more times than anyone else
His first win came in 2001, when he teamed up with Martina Hingis
There is a strong chance this may be the last Hopman Cup with a new ATP World Team Cup tournament set to be introduced next year.

Federer gave Switzerland a 1-0 lead in the tie with a 6-4 6-2 win over world number four Alexander Zverev.

But Germany's Angelique Kerber levelled the tie with a 6-4 7-6 (8-6) win over Belinda Bencic in the women's singles rubber.

Switzerland then came up trumps 4-0 1-4 4-3 (5-4) in the deciding mixed doubles that came down to the final point.

Under the short sets format, the match is decided by a winner-takes-all point if scores are locked at 4-4 in the third-set tiebreak.

Germany blew a championship point before it reached that stage, and they again faltered when everything was on the line, with Zverev hitting the ball into the net to spark Switzerland's celebrations.

Federer's three Hopman Cup titles is more than any other player.

The 20-time grand slam champion first won the Hopman Cup in 2001, when he teamed with Martina Hingis to beat the US.

The 37-year-old won his second crown alongside Bencic last year, beating Zverev and Kerber.

PHOTO: Belinda Bencic and Federer claimed the win with a winner-takes-all point. (AAP: Tony McDonough)

And it was the exact same script this year, with Federer winning his singles match in the final before helping clinch the deciding rubber in the mixed doubles.

Federer was simply irresistible in his singles match, countering the power of Zverev with classy stroke play and unpredictable deftness.

Zverev unleashed a series of powerful serves, some of which exceeded 220 kilometres per hour.

But Federer snared the crucial break in the 10th game of the first set, before breaking the young German again early in the second set on the way to the 70-minute win.

Federer has beaten Frances Tiafoe, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Cameron Norrie, and Zverev in straight sets at the Hopman Cup, giving him an excellent preparation for his Australian Open title defence.

VIDEO: Roger Federer wins historic doubles clash against Serena Williams. (Photo: AAP) (ABC News)

"I'm happy I'm feeling this good and playing as well as I am," Federer said.

"It's good to finish on a singles performance like this. I'm a bit surprised that the matches have gone as well as they have."

Saturday's final took on extra significance given there was a strong chance it would be the last Hopman Cup.

A new ATP World Team Cup tournament is set to be introduced in Australia next year.

The Hopman Cup, which was first held 30 years ago, is almost certain to be axed to make way for the incoming 24-team tournament, which is set to be hosted in Sydney, Brisbane, and Perth.