Serbia, Belgium secure victories
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Novak Djokovic laid down an early marker ahead of the Australian Open with a scintillating performance yesterday as Serbia beat Australia to move closer to a place in the final of the Hopman Cup mixed-team event.
The world No. 3 brushed aside former world No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt 6-2, 6-4 to secure an unbeatable 2-0 lead for the top seeds after Ana Ivanovic eased to a 6-4, 6-0 win over Alicia Molik in Perth.
Belgium whitewashed Kazakhstan 3-0 and its match with Serbia tomorrow will decide which of the two nations goes through to the final as the winner of Group A.
Djokovic, who has been training with Britain's Andy Murray throughout the week, looked lean and mean as he bullied Hewitt from the baseline with some great hitting.
Hewitt's only moment of hope came when he recovered a break to level at 2-2 in the second set but Djokovic broke in the 10th game to clinch an impressive victory.
Former world No. 1 Ivanovic survived an injury scare as she came through a tough first set before crushing Molik in the second.
Another former world No. 1, Justine Henin, continued her comeback from a six-month injury absence as Belgium whitewashed Kazakhstan.
Henin saw off Sesil Karatantcheva 6-4, 6-3 to put Belgium ahead and Ruben Bemelmans upset the much higher-ranked Andrey Golubev 6-4, 6-4. The Belgians then won the mixed doubles 4-6, 6-2, 10-8.
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