The United States pairing of Serena Williams and John Isner achieved the 3-0 victory needed to secure a place in the final of the Hopman Cup, ending the Czech Republic’s challenge in the Perth tournament yesterday.

The USA needed to beat their Czech opponents in all three rubbers to ensure top spot in Group A, and Williams got them off to the perfect start with a gruelling 6-3 6-7 (1/7) 7-6 (8/6) win over Lucie Safarova.

Isner then strengthened their position with a 7-6 6-4 victory against Adam Pavlasek, before the American pair combined to brush aside the Safarova-Pavlasek partnership 6-3 6-3 and make certain of the whitewash.

Canada ended their round-robin campaign with a 2-1 defeat of Italy.

Singles rubbers wins for Eugenie Bouchard and Vasek Pospisil gave them an unassailable lead before Flavia Pennetta and Fabio Fognini avenged their respective defeats by winning the mixed doubles.

Oblivious to a row brewing over her withdrawal from last year’s Hong Kong Open, Bouchard continued her impressive run in the tournament with a straight sets victory over Pennetta.

“Each game was kind of like a battle and I’m happy I was able to keep my serve in the second set, you know she was really putting pressure on me,” Bouchard said after defeating the world no. 12.

The Canadian was, however, unaware that her last minute withdrawal from last September’s inaugural Hong Kong Open, which drew the ire of the organisers, remained a hot topic yesterday.

The Hong Kong Tennis Association (HKTA) publicly criticised Bouchard, who said she was tired after playing at the US Open, for which they have been fined $10,000.

The WTA cited a breach of code of conduct by the HKTA and said the comments had hurt Bouchard’s reputation and financial interests, according to a South China Morning Post report.

HKTA president Herbert Chow Siu-lung called the WTA sanction as “injustice” and said the association would appeal against it.