Serena Williams
PERTH, Australia – Serena Williams beat Alicia Molik 6-2, 7-6 (7) Thursday to give the United States a 1-0 lead over Australia, guaranteeing the Americans a spot in the Hopman Cup mixed teams tennis final.
The U.S. entered Thursday’s match with a 2-0 round-robin record and 5-1 in overall matches in Group B, and was the only unbeaten team. Friday’s final will be the American’s ninth in the 20-year history of the tournament.
Mardy Fish was scheduled to take on Australia’s Peter Luczak in men’s singles, with mixed doubles to follow. Australia was 1-1 going into Thursday’s play.
India (1-1) and the Czech Republic (0-2) also played a Group B match Thursday.
Serbia (2-0) played Argentina and France took on Taiwan (2-0) in Group A matches Thursday night to determine the other finalist. Argentina (0-2) and France (1-1) cannot qualify for the final from Group A.
Williams broke Molik’s serve to open the match, but had more difficulty in the second set, failing to capitalize on seven breakpoint opportunities. The match ended when Molik double-faulted on match point.
Williams became upset with her play in the final set, throwing her racket to the court after failing to break Molik’s service in the final game before the tiebreaker.
”It was a match in itself,” Williams said of the second set. ”Alicia played well. It was very tough out there.”
Source: Serena’s win puts USA in Hopman final
