PERTH: Spain secured a place in the final of the Hopman Cup with a clean sweep of Australia on Thursday, with the host nation also concerned by an injury suffered by former world No.1 Lleyton Hewitt.
Australia needed to win each of Thursday’s matches in straight sets to have a chance of reaching Saturday’s final but their hopes ended when Samantha Stosur was beaten 6-4, 6-1 by Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez.
Spain went on to take the men’s singles, in which Tommy Robredo beat Hewitt 6-2, 6-4, and mixed doubles.
Hewitt, ranked No. 22, was troubled by a lower back injury during the first set. He appeared in pain as he served five double faults in his first two service games and called for medical attention after dropping the opening set in 37 minutes.
Hewitt moved more freely in the second set, after receiving a lengthy rubdown, and held serve in his first four service games before Robredo claimed a single and decisive break in the ninth game.
The Hewitt injury was a concern for home fans ahead of this month’s Australian Open, but he said it was unrelated to his long-standing hip trouble. “It (my hip) is fine, I just had a bit of a back spasm in the first game of the singles,” Hewitt said.
“It loosened up as the match wore on but it was frustrating at the start.” Spain has a chance to win its third Hopman Cup, after claiming the trophy in 1990 and 2002. Its opponent in the final will be decided in Friday’s Group B meetings, when leaders Britain take on Russia and Germany faces Kazakhstan.
Martinez Sanchez prevailed in a tight first set, then broke twice for a commanding 4-0 lead in the second set.
She converted half her eight break points, while the Australian only broke once.
“It’s not easy at the beginning of the year to play like this,” Martinez Sanchez said.
“In the pre-season I worked too much, I suffered.
“I like the risk (of playing difficult shots) and I like to play like this always.” Stosur struggled to find her rhythm and accuracy off the forehand throughout, and the world’s No.13 suffered her second loss of the tournament, dampening hopes of a strong run at the Australian Open.
“I didn’t get to where I wanted to during the match but she put the pressure on me throughout the whole match so I couldn’t do too much,” Stosur said.
The United States beat Romania 3-0 in the other Group A fixture Thursday. Melanie Oudin beat Sorana Cirstea 6-2, 6-3 while Romania forfeited the the men’s singles and mixed doubles because of a groin injury suffered by Victor Hanescu in an earlier match.
