Date:09/01/2009 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2009/01/09/stories/2009010953291900.htm

Sport - Tennis

Russia, Slovakia enters final

PERTH: Russian siblings Marat Safin and Dinara Safina will play the Slovakia in Friday’s Hopman Cup final, after beating France 2-1 in their final Group B tie here Thursday.

The tie was locked at 1-1 after the singles and Russia simply needed to win the deciding mixed doubles to remain unbeaten from three group ties and reach the final, while the French team of Alize Cornet and Gilles Simon had to win in straight sets to advance.

Earlier in the day, the seventh-seeded Slovaks advanced to their fourth final in dramatic circumstances when Germany’s Nicolas Kiefer collapsed on court with an ankle injury and was taken off in a wheelchair.

The results: Group A: USA bt Australia 2-1 (Meghann Shaughnessy lost to Casey Dellacqua 6-3, 6-4; James Blake bt Lleyton Hewitt 6-2, 6-2; Shaughnessy & Blake bt Dellacqua & Hewitt 6-3, 5-7, 10-6)

Slovakia bt Germany 3-0 (Dominika Cibulkova bt Sabine Lisicki 7-6(3), 6-4; Dominik Hrbaty bt Nicolas Kiefer 1-3, retd.; Cibulkova & Hrbaty bt Lisicki & Kiefer, walkover)

Group B: Russia bt France 2-1 (Dinara Safina bt Alize Cornet 6-3, 6-2; Marat Safin lost to Gilles Simon 7-6(5), 6-3; Safina & Safin bt Cornet & Simon 6-4, 6-3)

Italy bt Taiwan 3-0 (Flavia Pennetta bt Hsieh Su-wei 7-5, 6-3.7-5; Simone Bolelli bt Lu Yen-Hsun, walkover; Bolelli & Pennetta bt Hsieh & Lu, walkover). — Agencies