Argentina strike first in Hopman Cup

Guillermo Coria of Argentina hits a return against Davide Sanguinetti of Italy in
 their men's singles match at the Hopman Cup at the
Burswood Dome in Perth Jan 2. Coria won 6-1, 7-6. - AFP

Australia - Argentina drew first blood in the main draw of the Hopman Cup mixed teams tennis tournament here Sunday but had to sweat more than they expected to overcome Italy 2-1.

The fourth-seeded Argentinian pairing of Gisela Dulko and Guillermo Coria had been tipped to win easily against the unseeded Italians but in the end the Group A tie came down to the decisive mixed doubles.

World number 24 Francesca Schiavone had given the Italians a dream start at the Burswood Dome when she dispensed with a lacklustre Dulko in straight sets 6-1, 6-3.

But things turned sour for Italy in the men's singles when Davide Sanguinetti, who already faced an uphill battle to overcome world number seven Guillermo Coria, twisted his left ankle in the second game.

Coria then powered through the set dropping just one game before the 110th-ranked Sanguinetti managed to shrug off the injury and fight back -- taking the second set to a tie-break which he eventually lost 7/4.

Sanguinetti then had to back up immediately afterwards in the doubles where he and Schiavone broke the Argentinian pair twice in the opening set but couldn't maintain the advantage, eventually losing it 7-5 then caving in 6-0 on the final set.

Dulko, who lifted her game dramatically in the doubles, said she was relieved to get the tie behind her.

"I'm lucky that in the doubles I played much better, so I'm happy now," she said.

The 19-year-old rising star from Buenos Aires ranked 33 in the world had earlier seemed tentative in her Hopman Cup debut, making 46 unforced errors to virtually hand the match to her opponent.

She started with a flourish, breaking Schiavone's service in the first game, but then capitulated to lose the next six games in just 24 minutes.

The Argentinian then struggled throughout the match to get her forehand working while Schiavone's backhand was in impressive form.

"It was a nice match, nothing special but it's not easy because it was the first match of the year," Schiavone said.

"I had to think about my match and my games and my concentration because it's not easy to stay there every point. She is good -- (but) she missed a lot today."

The first of the Group B matches will be played on Monday when the Australian pair of Mark Philippoussis and Alicia Molik take on the third-seeded Slovak Republic duo of Daniela Hantuchova and Dominik Hrbaty.

Philippoussis is attempting to re-start his flagging career which has seen his ranking drop 100 places to 109 in the last 12 months while Molik is steadily climbing the women's rankings and is aiming for a top 10 berth.

Later on Monday favourites Russia, made up of Marat Safin -- who arrived in Perth on Sunday after being honoured by the Russian Government on New Year's eve -- and French Open winner Anastasia Myskina will take on Germany's Tommy Haas and Anna-Lena Groenefeld.

Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin