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PERTH, Australia, Jan 1: Serena Williams and James Blake put in a pair of pulsating performances at the Hopman Cup on Wednesday to oust champions Spain from the mixed team contest.
Dazzling in a vibrant orange outfit, Williams threw off the challenge of Virginia Ruano Pascual 6-3 6-3 before Blake pasted Tommy Robredo 6-3 6-0.
The pair then teamed up to grind Spain into the ground 6-1 6-4 in the mixed doubles.
In a Group B clash, Silvia Farina Elia racked up Italy’s first match victory, beating Czech Daja Bedanova 6-4 2-6 6-2 for a 1-0 lead.
But Davide Sanguinetti then lost a tight match against Jiri Novak 6-7 7-5 7-5 as the Czechs pulled level before winning the decisive mixed 6-3 6-3 to eliminate the Italians from the running for Saturday’s final.
The rustiness displayed by the American team in their opening matches two days ago was a distant memory as the duo ran roughshod over the hapless holders at Burswood Dome.
“What a difference a day makes, eh?” smiled Blake after his razor-sharp victory.
For Robredo — champion here 12 months ago with the now-retired Arantxa Sanchez Vicario — it was a first defeat in six matches at the Perth event while Ruano Pascual is yet to record a victory in the A$1 million ($563,400) event.
The U.S. whitewashed Uzbekistan 3-0 in their opening match while champions Spain were pipped 2-1 by Belgium.
Williams insisted there was better to come.
Next up for Williams is a clash with Belgium’s Kim Clijsters, her conqueror in last year’s season-ending WTA Championships.
Gold Coast results
GOLD COAST, Australia, Jan 1 (Reuters) - Results from singles matches in the Australian women’s hardcourt tennis championship on Wednesday:
Second round: Nathalie Dechy bt Nicole Pratt (Australia) 2-6 7-5 6-3; Meghann Shaughnessy bt Lina Krasnoroutskaya 6-3 7-6 (8-6)
Qatar Open results
Results from second round matches at the $1 million ATP Tour Qatar Open tennis tournament on Wednesday: Andreas Vinciguerra bt Albert Costa 3-6 7-6 (7-5) 7-5; Mikhail Youzhny bt Radek Stepanek 6-3 6-1; Fernando Vicente bt Markus Hantschk 7-5 7-6 (7-3); Stefan Koubek bt Vladimir Voltchkov 6-1 6-1 hardcourt results
ADELAIDE: Results from matches in the Australian men’s hardcourt tennis championship on Wednesday
First round: Franco Squillari bt Wayne Ferreira 7-6 (7-4) 6-2; Richard Gasquet bt Arnaud Di Pasquale 3-6 6-3 6-4; Richard Krajicek bt Scott Draper 7-6 (7-4) 6-4.
Second round: Anthony Dupuis bt Max Mirnyi 7-6 (7-3) 6-3; Mariano Zabaleta bt Martin Verkerk 6-4 6-4; Adrian Voinea bt Alex Kim 6-4 6-1; Nikolay Davydenko bt Ivan Ljubicic 4-6 6-4 7-6 (11-9)
