A classy performance from Tommy Robredo provided the highlight as Spain won its opening tie against Croatia at the mixed teams Hopman Cup in Perth yesterday.
Robredo, a past winner of the event in 2002 with Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, won a high quality singles clash with fellow top 10 player Mario Ancic in three sets to secure victory for the second seeds.
Earlier, Anabel Medina Garrigues had given Spain the lead in the tie with an easy straight sets win over Ancic's teenage sister, Sanja.
PHOTO: AFP
In the dead mixed doubles rubber, the Spanish pair completed a clean sweep of the tie with a 6-4, 6-2 win.
With the three other seeded teams all shock losers on the first two days of the tournament, the win puts the Spanish in an ideal position to claim their third Hopman Cup title.
Much was expected of the men's singles clash, with Robredo and Ancic the two highest-ranked men in the event, and the match didn't disappoint.
Robredo is ranked seventh in the world and Ancic ninth, and the quality of tennis reflected their lofty status in the game as they enter the new year.
The taller Ancic looked in control when he claimed the first set, but Robredo lifted his game and was playing superlative tennis by the end of the match as he won 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 in two hours and four minutes.
Robredo broke Ancic in the 12th game of the second set to level the match and then one more break in the last set was enough to secure victory.
The Spaniard's groundstrokes in the last two sets were exceptional and he finished the match with 27 winners, to Ancic's 18.
The 24-year-old Spaniard admitted he started the match slowly, but said beating such a highly-rated opponent was a perfect start to the year.
"Beating him is a pretty good start to the year," Robredo said.
"[In the second set] I tried to hit harder and be a little bit more aggressive. I could do it and got my rhythm and won the second and the third [sets]," he said.
Robredo said he was looking forward to the new season, after finishing in the top 10 for the first time at the end of last year.
He reached the fourth round at three of the four Grand Slams last year, won his first ATP Masters Series title in Hamburg and also triumphed in Bastad.
"Last year gives me a lot of confidence," he said, with the Australian Open only a fortnight away.
"I finished seventh in the world and after that year I am pretty confident in myself. Starting with a victory is always nice, if I keep focused and keep playing at my level hopefully I can keep being like this all year," Robredo said.
Although beaten Ancic, 22, played some fine tennis himself and showed why he is regarded as one of the most promising young players on the tour.
Ancic had a break point at 2-2 in the third set, but couldn't convert and Robredo then broke in the following game for a 4-2 lead.
Earlier, Medina Garrigues was far too good for her teenage opponent, winning 6-3, 6-1 in just over an hour.
Ranked 27th, the Spanish woman was always expected to account for the 167th-ranked Ancic and never looked troubled.
Medina Garrigues was pleased with the effort, although fronting up early on New Year's Day was a minor issue.
"When I got the schedule in Spain I looked and said `no, not at 11 on the first day of the year, I can't believe that.'"
"But it's okay, if I win I'm always happy," she said.
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