OWN CORRESPONDENT, Cape Town | Sunday 1.00pm.
SOUTH Africa raced to victory over Belgium in the Hopman Cup mixed teams tournament in Perth on Sunday. The experienced Amanda Coetzer and Wayne Ferreira both won their singles clashes to give South Africa an unbeatable 2-0 lead before the mixed doubles.
Coetzer, 28, ranked 11th in the world, outclassed 26-year-old Dominique Van Roost, ranked 14th, winning 6-4, 6-2 in a one-sided 71 minutes.
Then Ferreira, 28, who has a 53rd ranking, had too much class for Xavier Malisse, 19, who is 143rd on the list.
Ferreira won 6-2, 6-3 in a whirlwind 63 minutes as Malisse labored with knee problems.
The South Africans rounded off their dominant start by winning the mixed doubles 7-5, 6-3.
Ferreira was delighted with his sparkling form after a long break from the court, during which he has concentrated on gym work. “I played well. I was very happy,” he said. “I did not get enough first serves in, but I can correct that.”
Coetzer said she was happy with the way she played in her first match of the year. “I had a few bad starts last year, and it is good to get going on such a fine note,” she said. “She made a few more errors than she usually does.”
South Africa now have a two-day break before meeting Sweden (Jonas Bjorkman, Asa Carlsson) on Tuesday and the United States (James Blake, Alexandra Stevensen) on Thursday.
Ferreira said he sees Bjorkman, 27, ranked 74th, as his toughest opponent in the qualifying rounds of the tournament.
He rates the Australian pair of Mark Philippoussis and Jelena Dokic as the toughest team in the competition.
Philippoussis, who recently powered Australia to the Davis Cup final win against France, won the tournament last year with Dokic, and the pair are favorites this year after the late withdrawal through injury of the US pair of Justin Gimelstob and Monica Seles.
Philippoussis is ranked 19th and Dokic 43rd.
The Belgian pair have two more chances to make amends for their poor start in the eight-nation round-robin event.
They come up against the United States Wednesday and then meet Sweden Thursday. — AFP