Perked up by a cup of coffee at the end of the first set, Serena recovered from a disastrous start to defeat Flavia Penetta as the US beat Italy 3-0 in their Group A tie. PHOTO: AFP
Perked up by a cup of coffee at the end of the first set, Serena recovered from a disastrous start to defeat Flavia Penetta as the US beat Italy 3-0 in their Group A tie.
After Serena gave the Americans the lead, the towering John Isner then secured the tie with a grinding three-set win over Fabio Fognini.
Isner dropped the first set, but fought back to win 5-7, 7-5, 7-6 (7/4) in two hours and 27 minutes.
The Americans then survived two match points to claim the dead rubber mixed doubles in a match tiebreak, 6-2, 2-6, 11-9.
Serena, who will be aiming for her 19th Grand Slam singles title at the Australian Open later this month, had her hands full with 12th-ranked Pennetta in the early stages of her first singles match of the new year.
However, the American won 0-6, 6-3, 6-0 and said she needed something to perk her up, having only arrived in Perth on Saturday.
The 33-year-old praised the ‘miracle’ of coffee after the turnaround. "I am a coffee drinker and I didn't have mine this morning so I had to get some coffee in me," she said. "I told them to just give me a shot of espresso. I asked if it was legal, because I never did it before but I needed it to [help with] the jet lag."
Meanwhile, Andy Murray continued his strong build-up in his quest for a maiden Australian Open title with a comfortable victory over Frenchman Benoit Paire in the Hopman Cup mixed-team event in Perth yesterday.
Fresh from his first title of 2015 in Abu Dhabi, the Scot, representing Britain at the event alongside Heather Watson, defeated Paire 6-2, 7-5 in the evening match.
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