Murray and Watson whitewash Germany
Britons Andy Murray and Heather Watson registered singles wins on a sweltering day in Perth to help give Great Britain a 3-0 Hopman Cup whitewash of Germany.
On a morning when temperatures rose to 36 degrees, Watson beat Sabine Lisicki 6-3 6-4 before Murray overcame Alexander Zverev 6-3 6-4.
The pair then teamed up for a 6-3 6-4 win in the mixed doubles.
Britain still need France to beat Australia Green in the last group game to reach Saturday’s final.
For Watson and Murray, the competition is useful preparation for the Australian Open, which starts in Melbourne on 18 January.
“It’s great to get matches in,” said Murray. “It is nice to play during the day to get used to the hot weather.
“Hopefully it’s not that bad in Melbourne.”
Easy does it for Andy
An early break in each set was enough for Murray, 28, to ease home against his teenage opponent, ranked 83 in the world.
Murray wore Zverev down by keeping him on the move and targeting his opponent’s inconsistent forehand.
The Scot did lose his serve once in the second set, letting a 5-2 lead slip as Zverev had break points to level at 5-5.
But Murray quickly recovered to seal victory on his next service game after a big serve down the middle.
‘The fittest I’ve ever been’
British women’s number two Watson, 23, earlier secured an impressive straight-sets win over former Wimbledon finalist Lisicki.
Lisicki, ranked 32 in the world, made a strong start on serve in the first set only for Watson to make the decisive break at 4-3 and serve out the set to 15.
The second set was more comfortable for world number 55 Watson as she broke Lisicki twice to seal a third career win over her former training partner.
“It was a really good match,” Watson said. “She’s a tough opponent and a great server, so I knew that holding serve would be very important.
“I did a shorter off-season, but more intense, this year,” she added. “I feel like this is the fittest and strongest I’ve ever been.”