Germany knock US out of Hopman Cup

Germany won a tiebreaker in the mixed doubles to eliminate defending champions the United States from the Hopman Cup in Perth yesterday. The German pair of Nicolas Kiefer and Sabine Lisicki teamed up to defeat James Blake and Meghann Shaughnessy 6-3 3-6 7-6 and secure a 2-1 win after the singles matches had been split.

The result gave Germany their second round-robin win in Group A and they face a showdown with the Slovakia today for a place in the final.

Russia made sure they were in pole position to secure a final spot from Group B when they won their second successive tie, gaining an unbeatable 2-0 lead over Taiwan.

Dinara Safina found the going tough but still managed to edge past Hsieh Su-wei 4-6 6-2 7-5 before her brother Marat Safin completed the win with a 7-6 7-5 victory over Lu Yen-hsun.

The US, who lost their opening tie to Slovakia, play Australia today in a meaningless tie with neither country able to reach the final.

Lisicki gave Germany the early advantage when she came from behind to defeat Shaughnessy 4-6 6-0 6-4 in the women's singles before Blake squared the tie with a 7-6 6-7 6-4 win over Kiefer to set the stage for the mixed doubles.

Australian Open

World no.5 Nikolay Davydenko will miss the Australian Open later this month after aggravating a heel injury. The 27-year-old Russian was scheduled to play his second round match in Chennai against Czech wildcard Lukas Dlouhy but instead told reporters at the Chennai Open, where he was top seed, that he would have to withdraw from the event.

Qatar Open (second round): Nadal bt Beck 6-1 6-2; Monfils bt Devilder 7-5 7-6; Murray bt Petzschner 6-2 6-4; Federer bt Seppi 6-3 6-3.