Novak Djokovic led Serbia to a 3-0 victory over Australia in the Hopman Cup on Tuesday, taking them to the brink of Saturday's final.
Djokovic in top form as Hewitt goes down in Perth
Novak Djokovic led Serbia to a 3-0 victory over Australia in the Hopman Cup on Tuesday, taking them to the brink of Saturday's final.
The world number three shut out Lleyton Hewitt twice in one day, 6-2 6-4 in the singles before pairing up with Ana Ivanovic to beat Hewitt and Alicia Molik 10-6 in a match tie-breaker in the doubles.
Ivanovic had earlier beaten Molik 6-4 6-0 and after beating Kazakhstan in their first group match, the Serbians require just a single victory against Belgium on Thursday to book their place in the final.
Djokovic, who has won his last four matches against Hewitt on the ATP Tour, saved four break points at 2-2 then won four games on the trot to take the first set 6-2.
He broke in the second game of the next set only for Hewitt to immediately level, but the Aussie double-faulted twice at 4-5 to hand Djokovic the win.
Respect
"I played great, especially the beginning of the second I was playing some of the best tennis I've played in this year and a half," Djokovic said.
"We players have great respect for him because he's a big fighter, he keeps on coming back. He's won everything - Grand Slam, world number one, Davis Cup - and he wants more, so you have to respect that."
Ivanovic was relieved to feel OK after overextending her left knee midway through a point while leading Molik by a set and 3-0, managing to finish off the set 6-0.
"I was a little bit scared because in that one split step that I made I went a little bit low and I felt a sharp pain in my knee," she said. "So I thought I better check with the doctors and see what they think. I'm going to go see them afterwards, but it feels fine.
"We had some really tough points and good rallies. I think it was high-class tennis considering it's just the beginning of the year."
The Serbian duo then dropped the first set in the closing doubles before hitting back to level, eventually edging to victory 6-7 6-4 10-6.
