Spain down China for 2nd win in a row at Hopman Cup
Spain's Anabel Medina Garrigues and Fernando Verdasco were nearly perfect in mixed doubles at the Hopman Cup on Tuesday, beating China's Li Na and Wu Di 6-0, 6-2 to clinch a 2-1 team victory.
Spain's Anabel Medina Garrigues and Fernando Verdasco were nearly perfect in mixed doubles at the Hopman Cup on Tuesday, beating China's Li Na and Wu Di 6-0, 6-2 to clinch a 2-1 team victory.
Verdasco also beat Wu 6-3, 6-4 in singles after French Open champion Li gave the Chinese a 1-0 lead with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Medina Garrigues.
Spain won their second match in the competition, giving themselves a strong chance of advancing to Saturday's final from Group B.
Verdasco arrived in Perth after a short break following Spain's Davis Cup win in December, then beat Lleyton Hewitt of Australia in his opening singles match on Sunday.
On Tuesday, Verdasco took a 4-1 lead in the first set but struggled at times against the 20-year-old Wu, who impressed the Spaniard.
"I think that he's a talented player ... he has very fast hands," Verdasco said. "I saw him practice when I was in China playing the Asian Tour last year."
France, who beat China in their opener on Saturday, take on Australia later Tuesday.
Denmark play Bulgaria and the Czech Republic take on the United States in Group A play on Wednesday, with Denmark and the Czech Republic going for their second straight wins.