SYDNEY: Ash Barty defeated Alize Cornet in straight sets at the Hopman Cup in Perth on Saturday as hosts Australia beat France 2-1 on the first day of the team contest. The world number 15 won 7-5, 6-3 at the RAC Arena, though Cornet, ranked 45 and who was one half of the winning team in 2014, fought back hard in the second set.
“I knew I was going to have to hit a million balls against Alize,” 22-year-old Barty said. “We’ve had a couple of good battles in the past.”
Her team-mate Matthew Ebden overcame a slow start to vanquish Lucas Pouille 3-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-2, breaking the Frenchman twice in the final set. “There wasn’t much rhythm until the second-set leg,” Perth native and world number 46 Ebden said. “Lucas was playing fast, he’s got a lot of power in his serve. I was trying to do the same. I was able to get just a little bit more aggressive, a little more forwards, a little to the net.”
France earned a consolation by winning the mixed doubles in the final match in the Group A round-robin session, with Cornet and Pouille defeating Barty and Ebden 4-3 (6-4), 4-2 played under Fast4 Tennis rules.
Earlier in the day, relative unknown Cameron Norrie downed rising star Stefanos Tsitsipas, as the British underdogs beat Greece 2-1 in Group B.
Norrie, ranked 91, defeated Tsitsipas 7-6 (10-8), 6-4 in a closely-fought match which saw him break the Greek three times in the second set. “I’m really excited to get the win; he’s a tough competitor,” said 23-year-old Norrie. “He came out with some big shots and so did I.”
Tsitsipas, who jumped from 91 to 15 in the rankings this year to become the youngest player in the top 20, admitted finding it tough to adjust to conditions in Perth, where temperatures hit 28 degrees Celsius on Saturday. “Cameron played really well, but I really felt uncomfortable. I don’t know why,” he said.
Following Norrie’s victory, team-mate Katie Boulter lost 6-0, 4-6,6-2 in her singles match against Greek world number 41 Maria Sakkari, putting the pressure on both teams in the mixed double finale. The Brits eventually prevailed 4-3, 3-4, 4-3, but only after a dramatic third set in which they came back from 3-0 down against the Greek favourites and saved several match points. — dpa
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