Russia beat US 2-1 in Hopman Cup

Perth:

Nadia Petrova and California-based Dmitry Tursunov beat Ashley Harkleroad and Mardy Fish 6-3, 7-5 Tuesday to give Russia a 2-1 win over the United States at the Hopman Cup team tennis tournament. Russia moved to 1-1 in Group A while the defending champion Americans are 0-2 after an opening loss to France. France won its second in a row with a 3-0 decision over Australia after a right knee injury forced Mark Philippoussis to retire in the men's singles match. Tatiana Golovin beat Alicia Molik 7-5, 6-2 to give France a 1-0 lead before Jerome Haehnel beat Philippoussis when the Australian player had to retire with the knee injury while trailing 4-1 in the first set. Philippoussis suffered the injury with Haehnel a point away from taking a 3-1 lead. After an injury timeout during which he received treatment on the knee, Haehnel won the next point without Philippoussis attempting to return the Frenchman's serve. Philippoussis then had difficulty serving in his next game, eventually double-faulting on break point to give Haehnel a 4-1 lead. After going to his chair for the odd-games break, Philippoussis decided to retire. Tournament spokesman Rosita Stangl said Philippoussis would likely have a scan Wednesday to determine the extent of his injury. Australia plays its third match Thursday against the United States. Fish beat Tursunov, who moved to the United States from Russia with his family when he was 12, 6-1, 6-4 Tuesday. Fish had 13 aces, including four in a row to clinch the first set. Fish also had four aces in a row in the 10th game of the second set to save four break points. Petrova earlier defeated Harkleroad 6-3, 6-0 to give Russia a 1-0 lead. The highlight of the mixed doubles match was Tursunov's acrobatic over-the-shoulder smash volley in the final game, which set up match point for Russia. Fish said it was the luckiest shot he had ever seen, but Tursunov disagreed. "Apparently it is called a lucky shot, but I can do that all day," Tursunov said. "You have no idea how many times I have practiced that."

Featured Video Of The Day