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January 9, 2009
PERTH, AUSTRALIA (TICKER) -- Slovakia clinched the Hopman Cup on Friday as Dominika Cibulkova and Dominik Hrbaty both won their singles matches in the final against Russia.
Cibulkova dispatched Dinara Safina in the tie's first match and Hrbaty sealed a convincing triumph when he won a three-set thriller against former world No. 1 Marat Safin, meaning there was no need to play the mixed doubles.
In a power-packed six hours of tennis, the Slovaks survived against higher-ranked opponents after both teams had gone into the final undefeated from their three round-robin matches.
Cibulkova lost the first set against world No. 3 Safina in a tiebreak, but responded to take the next two 6-1, 6-4, and remain unbeaten in four singles matches and two doubles this week.
Safina's brother, Marat, gave the Russians hope when he took the first set against Hrbaty 7-6 (7-5), but went down 5-7 in the second and then missed out in the tiebreak in the final set (6-7 (3-7).
The Slovaks shared a winner's prize of $250,000, plus two diamond-encrusted tennis balls.
Updated on Friday, Jan 9, 2009 11:51 am, EST Email to a Friend | View Popular
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