Australia have been eliminated from the Hopman Cup after losing their second successive round-robin tie to Slovakia.
Successive defeats see Australia fall at first hurdle
Host nation Australia have been eliminated from the Hopman Cup after losing their second successive round-robin tie to Slovakia.
After going down to Germany in their opening encounter in Perth, Lleyton Hewitt and Casey Dellacqua had to win Tuesday's Group A showdown.
However, the pair came unstuck, eventually losing the tie 2-1 after emerging second best in the doubles.
Dominika Cibulkova stunned Dellacqua 7-5 6-2 in the singles but former world number one Hewitt gave the hosts hope when he fought past Dominik Hrbaty 7-6 6-7 6-4 in a three-hour battle.
However, the Australian duo ran out of steam in the doubles and lost 6-7 6-3 7-6 and exited the tournament as a result.
Despite the result, Hewitt remained upbeat about his Australian Open prospects.
"This is what you need going into the Australian Open," said Hewitt, who is on a comeback trail after undergoing hip surgery in 2008.
"This is obviously what tests it (my hip) and being able to back up day after day."
Italy victorious
Slovakia now lead the group after winning both of their ties and are in pole position to contest Friday's final.
Group B remains wide open after Simone Bolelli and Flavia Pennetta guided Italy to a 2-1 victory over France.
Alize Cornet sent France into a 1-0 lead with a 7-5 6-2 win over Pennetta in the women's singles, leaving Italy one loss away from falling out of tournament contention.
However, Bolelli managed to beat world number seven Gilles Simon 6-3 6-3 in the men's singles. He then combined with Pennetta to claim victory with a 6-4 7-6 win in the mixed doubles.
Bolleli said: "Finally I won against a top-10 player. First time. I played very well, I served very good. I played aggressive, I played almost perfectly I think."
The Italian victory comes after a 2-1 loss to Russia in their opening Group B match.
France opened with a win over Taiwan, leaving three nations in Group B with one victory each.
