India go down to USA 1-2

USA made light of the temporary absence of Serena Williams as they registered a 2-1 victory over India in their opening Group A match at the Hopman Cup here today.

Meghann Shaughnessy, standing in for the world number seven, gave the USA a perfect start by beating Sania Mirza 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 and Mardy Fish sealed the win with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Rohan Bopanna. There was a consolation doubles win later, however, as the Sania/Bopanna pair got on the board with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Shaughnessy and Fish.

Williams is due to arrive in Perth in time for her nation’s second group match in the eight-nation mixed-team event against the Czech Republic on Monday.

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Australia upset the third-seeded Czech Republic 2-1 when Alicia Molik and Peter Luczak combined to beat Lucie Safarova and Tomas Berdych 7-5, 6-3 in the decisive mixed doubles match.

Molik won the women’s singles 7-5, 6-2 to give the hosts a 1-0 lead, but Berdych beat Luczak 7-6 (9-7), 6-4 to level for the Czech Republic.