India beat Chinese Taipei for Hopman Cup tennis berth

HYDERABAD (India)—India has scored an impressive victory over Chinese Taipei in the final of the Asian Hopman Cup tournament here to ensure a berth in the main tournament.
Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna starred in a 3-0 win Sunday as India became the first team to qualify for the Hopman Cup under a new system that reserves a berth for an Asian team.
India also earned 20,000 dollars for their win to add to an assured 50,000 dollars for participating in the main tournament in Perth, Australia, next January. Local star Mirza regaled the packed stadium with a fluent game that saw her win 6-2, 6-4 against 316th-ranked I Hsuan Hwang.
Mirza, ranked 67, breezed through the first set by breaking her opponent’s serve in the fifth and seventh games. But the 20-year-old had to work harder in the second set as she once held serve after four deuces and on another occasion after three.
“I tried to finish some points early as I had a slight fever yesterday and knew that longer rallies would be to my detriment,” said Mirza, who is preparing for next month’s Asian Games in Doha. “It has been good to get some matches before the Asian Games. But it will be much tougher in Doha as there will be more teams and better players participating,” said Mirza.
Bopanna, ranked 259, excelled with his serves to prevail 6-3, 6-4 over 310th-ranked Ti Chen 6-3, 6-4. The 26-year-old from the southern Indian city of Bangalore fired six aces in each set and also returned serves well, once breaking serve at love in the second set.
“He was under pressure as my first serves started getting in so early,” said Bopanna. “I got a rhythm going after the first two games and things were not very difficult from then on.” Bopanna too felt the matches were good preparation for the Asiad.
“Winning three matches so close to the Asian Games are definitely a morale-booster,” said Bopanna, who replaced injured star player Leander Paes in this tournament. “I had taken up the job of helping India qualify for the Hopman Cup and have done that. I can now only wait and see whether I am asked to play in the main tournament,” he added.
Mirza and Bopanna later ensured that India did not drop a set in the tournament as their opponents conceded the inconsequential mixed doubles after losing the first set 6-1. The event was held on a league basis with six teams divided in two groups. The toppers of the groups made it to the final. China, Japan, Thailand and the Philippines were the other teams in the fray.—Agencies