Tommy Robredo was the driving force as Spain came from behind to beat Britain 2-1 yesterday to win the Hopman Cup for a third time.
Fifteen-year-old Laura Robson stunned world No. 26 Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez 6-1, 7-6 to give Britain a surprise lead, but Robredo upset world No. 4 Andy Murray 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 to leave the tie all square heading into the mixed doubles.
The Spaniards then saved three set points in the opening set of a dramatic match before going on to clinch the title with a 7-6 (8/6), 7-5 victory.
PHOTO: AFP
For Robredo, it was his second Hopman Cup victory after partnering Arantxa Sanchez Vicario to the title in 2002 and the pair each took home a special diamond-encrusted tennis ball as a trophy.
Former junior Wimbledon champion Robson was not given much chance against Martinez Sanchez, ranked 377 places above her, but she produced an outstanding display to make a mockery of the huge rankings gulf.
A brilliant drive volley gave her the first break in the fourth game and she then broke again two games later on the way to winning the first set.
Martinez Sanchez slowly worked her way into the match and broke to lead 5-3, but Robson broke back and then saved a set point at 4-5 as the pair headed to a tie-break.
Robson won six straight points to lead 6-2, but the Spaniard hit back to 6-6, only for Robson to smash two ground-stroke winners to seal the best win of her young career.
Murray looked on course for an easy win when he blitzed Robredo in the first set with more of the huge hitting he had displayed all week.
Robredo refused to buckle, however, and as Murray’s form dipped, the Spaniard broke serve in the 10th game to take the second set.
One break, in the second game, put Robredo ahead in the decider and he held his nerve to clinch a morale-boosting win.
Murray lifted himself again for another effort in the mixed doubles, but Britain missed their chance in the first set as they let slip a 6-3 lead in the tie-break to lose it 8-6.
■BRISBANE INTERNATIONAL
AFP, BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA
Belgium’s Kim Clijsters beat fellow countrywoman Justine Henin 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (8/6) to win a drama-charged final of the Brisbane International yesterday.
The two great rivals battled it out for 2 hours, 23 minutes before Clijsters eventually claimed victory on her fourth championship point.
Henin’s hopes of winning her first tournament since making a comeback to the sport ended with the loss, but she showed enough to suggest she will be a major force at the upcoming Australian Open.
Clijsters, who made her own comeback midway through last year, played some brilliant tennis in the first one and a half sets, and appeared headed for an easy victory.
She stumbled badly when trying to close out the match at 4-1, however, and Henin seized on her opponent’s nerves, attacking relentlessly and winning five straight games to put the match back on even terms.
Henin kept the pressure up at the start of the third, winning her first service game, breaking a shell-shocked Clijsters then holding her own serve to lead 3-0 and take an apparently firm grip on the final.
Clijsters refused to give in, however, and broke back to put the set back on serve, only to give away the advantage in the eighth game when she put an overhead smash into the net to concede the break.
In yet another twist, however, Clijsters broke back immediately, winning the game in almost identical fashion, this time Henin putting a smash into the net.
Henin brought up two championship points in the next game when Clijsters served at 4-5 to stay in the match, but couldn’t convert either and Clijsters held on, with the set almost inevitably going to a tie-break.
Clijsters had appeared the more vulnerable throughout the third set, but she quickly opened up a 4-0 lead in the tie-break, taking it to 5-1 with a second serve ace.
She brought up three championship points at 6-4, but Henin fought back again to make it 6-6.
Henin then served a double-fault and this time Clijsters made no mistake, taking her 36th title with her fourth match point.
■AUCKLAND CLASSIC
REUTERS, AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND
Belgium’s Yanina Wickmayer upset top seed Flavia Pennetta 6-3, 6-2 in the Auckland Classic final yesterday, completing a remarkable return to the courts after having a doping ban overturned.
Wickmayer, granted a wild card for the event after a court overturned a one-year ban imposed when she fell foul of the Belgian doping authority’s “whereabouts rule,” overcame early jitters to overpower the Italian and claim her third WTA title.
“It was a really tough time for me,” Wickmayer told reporters. “I was at home practicing really hard and just concentrating on this week, and trying to be ready if the decision was going to be made [in my favor]. It was tough, but it made me mentally strong so I’m happy to have been on court this week.”
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