Czechs keep Hopman hopes alive

CZECH Republic have kept their Hopman Cup hopes alive with a battling 2-1 win over number-two seeds Spain yesterday.

After suffering a shock defeat to rank outsiders India in the opening round of the mixed-teams tournament, the Czechs had looked to be heading out. But world number 42 Lucie Safarova overcame Anabel Medina Garrigues in a punishing 6-4 4-6 6-4 match to put the Czechs 1-0 up.She had to come back from a break down in the third set, but levelled and saved two break points on serve at 4-4 before breaking the Spaniard again to seal the decider.”It was great for me,” Safarova stated.”I lost the first two times that I played her, so I really wanted to win one.”I’m really happy I did so well.”World number 13 Tomas Berdych then put the Czechs into an unassailable 2-0 lead with a straight sets 7-5 6-1 victory over Spain’s Tommy Robredo.Spain gained some consolation in the mixed doubles, with a straight-sets win, 7-5 6-2, but were disappointed after beating Croatia in their opening tie.Berdych was pleased with the comfortable nature of his victory, especially against a player of Robredo’s calibre.”Tommy is a top 10 player.We started the first game and it was so long I thought that if the whole match was going to be like the first game we were going to be here until midnight,” Berdych explained.”At the end of the first set I made some good shots and I won.”After that something changed and I started playing really well.”Spain can still reach the final, but must beat India today, if they are to stand a chance of qualifying.Sky SportsBut world number 42 Lucie Safarova overcame Anabel Medina Garrigues in a punishing 6-4 4-6 6-4 match to put the Czechs 1-0 up.She had to come back from a break down in the third set, but levelled and saved two break points on serve at 4-4 before breaking the Spaniard again to seal the decider.”It was great for me,” Safarova stated.”I lost the first two times that I played her, so I really wanted to win one.”I’m really happy I did so well.”World number 13 Tomas Berdych then put the Czechs into an unassailable 2-0 lead with a straight sets 7-5 6-1 victory over Spain’s Tommy Robredo.Spain gained some consolation in the mixed doubles, with a straight-sets win, 7-5 6-2, but were disappointed after beating Croatia in their opening tie.Berdych was pleased with the comfortable nature of his victory, especially against a player of Robredo’s calibre.”Tommy is a top 10 player.We started the first game and it was so long I thought that if the whole match was going to be like the first game we were going to be here until midnight,” Berdych explained.”At the end of the first set I made some good shots and I won.”After that something changed and I started playing really well.”Spain can still reach the final, but must beat India today, if they are to stand a chance of qualifying.Sky Sports