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PERTH, Jan 4: Jan-Michael Gambill out-scrapped Xavier Malisse 7-6 7-6 Friday to send the top-seeded US into Saturday’s final of the Hopman Cup.
Runners-up last year, the Americans will face third seeds Spain in the final with both Monica Seles and Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario bidding to become the first player to win the mixed team event twice.
Malisse received treatment throughout the match after appearing to strain his lower back in the second game of the match, but Gambill said that had not put him off.
Seles earlier pulled off a gutsy 4-6 6-4 6-2 win over world number five Kim Clijsters.
Seles recovered from dropping the opening set to impose her powerful baseline game and slice the 18-year-old Clijsters to pieces with her sharp angles.
A single break in the second set hauled her level and two breaks in the third sealed a victory which enraged Clijsters so much the Belgian uncharacteristically smashed her racket into the ground at the end of the match.
Gambill was just too good in every department for Malisse who had lost all three of the pair’s previous matches ahead of the clash.
A break apiece in the first set and also in the second failed to separate the players and it was in the tiebreaks that Gambill’s experience told.
The Belgians later scored a consolation point when they won the mixed doubles 7-6 6-2.
In other action at the Burswood Dome, Italy beat France 2-1 after Virginie Razzano twisted her ankle.
Razzano gave Italy the lead when she retired after hurting her ankle at 1-1 against Francesca Schiavone.
France levelled the match when last year’s Australian Open finalist Arnaud Clement beat Davide Sanguinetti 6-3 7-5 but they were forced to forfeit the deciding mixed doubles.
Results:
Group A
Italy beat France 2-1 (Italian names first) Francesca Schiavone beat Virginie Razzano 1-1 retired Davide Sanguinetti lost to Arnaud Clement 6-3 7-5 Sanguinetti/Schiavone beat Clement/Razzano walkover
1-U.S. beat 4-Belgium 2-1 (U.S. names first) Monica Seles beat Kim Clijsters 4-6 6-4 6-2 Jan-Michael Gambill beat Xavier Malisse 7-6 (7-2) 7-6 (7-2) Gambill/Seles lost to Malisse/Clijsters 7-6 (7-3) 6-2
KOURNIKOVA CRASHES OUT
AUCKLAND: Anna Kournikova has crashed out of the semifinals of the Auckland Classic, losing 6-1 6-4 to Israel’s Anna Smashnova Friday.
Kournikova, who was ranked as high as eighth in the world at the end of the 2000 season but has not won a singles title in six years on the women’s tour, was frustrated by Smashnova’s baseline game and committed too many errors.
Smashnova eased through the first set 6-1 before Kournikova took a lead for the first time in the match at 2-1 in the second set.
However she then lost three games in a row to be down 4-2 before taking the game to 5-4 but then at 30-30 in the tenth game hit two shots long to give Smashnova the victory.
Russia’s Tatiana Panova beat Croatia’s Silvija Talaja 6-3 6-2 in the second semifinal.
Results
5-Tatiana Panova (Russia) beat Silvija Talaja (Croatia) 6-3 6-2; Anna Smashnova (Israel) beat Anna Kournikova (Russia) 6-1 6-4.
WILLIAMS MEETS HENIN
GOLD COAST: Top seeds Venus Williams and Belgian Justine Henin won their semifinals on Friday to advance to Saturday’s final of the Australian women’s hardcourt championships.
Williams, the U.S. Open and Wimbledon champion, led Nadia Petrova 7-6 6-5 on Friday before the Russian withdrew with a shoulder injury.
CAPRIATI IN FINAL
HONG KONG: Results from the Hong Kong Ladies Challenge at Victoria Park here Friday:
Jennifer Capriati (USA) bt Amanda Coetzer (Rsa) 6-2, 6-3; Elena Dementieva (Rus) bt Mary Pierce 6-1, retired.—Reuters
