Russia whitewash France to reach Hopman final

By Staff
|
Google Oneindia News

PERTH, Jan 4 (Reuters) Russia completed a 3-0 whitewash of France today to reach the Hopman Cup final.

The top seeds, who had been beaten in their first match by hosts Australia, started the day needing to win all three rubbers to overtake the French at the top of Group A.

Nadia Petrova kept up her end of the bargain by beating Tatiana Golovin in two sets before partner Dmitry Tursunov made it 2-0 with a 6-1 6-4 win over Jerome Haehnel.

They then paired up to beat the French duo 6-4 6-2 in 67 minutes in the mixed doubles to book their place in tomorrow's final.

''I'm very relieved because after our first match we didn't have any more chances,'' Petrova said in a courtside interview.

World number six Petrova triumphed 7-6 6-0 despite receiving treatment for a strained side during the first set against the 20-year-old Golovin, winning in an hour and 29 minutes to put the Russians in sight of the final.

Australia are playing the United States in the dead second contest in the pool with the match tied at 1-1.

Alicia Molik gave the hosts a 1-0 lead with a 3-6 6-4 6-4 win over Ashley Harkleroad before Mardy Fish levelled the tie with a 7-5 7-5 win over Nathan Healey, a late replacement for the injured Mark Philippoussis.

The identity of the second finalist will be clarified later today with India needing to beat Spain to book their place in their competition debut.

REUTERS SAM SSC1359

For Daily Alerts
Get Instant News Updates
Enable
x
Notification Settings X
Time Settings
Done
Clear Notification X
Do you want to clear all the notifications from your inbox?
Settings X
X