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Bethanie Mattek-Sands beat world No. 7 Francesca Schiavone 6-4, 6-4 to help lift the United States to a 2-1 win over Italy at the Hopman Cup on Wednesday.
John Isner gave the Americans a 2-0 lead after winning a tight match against Potito Starace 7-6 (5), 4-6, 6-4. But Italy denied the U.S. a second clean sweep at the tournament when Schiavone and Starace pulled off a surprising 6-7 (5), 6-2, 10-3 victory in the mixed doubles.
The result means that all four nations in Group B -- Italy, the United States, Britain and France -- still have a chance of qualifying for Saturday's final.
Dressed head to toe in black, Mattek-Sands wasted little time in applying pressure to French Open champion Schiavone, breaking to go 3-2 ahead in the opening set and maintaining her lead the rest of the way.
Schiavone appeared to be laboring on another humid day in Perth, falling a break behind at the start of the second set. She broke back, but it only delayed the outcome, as Mattek-Sands broke again to seal the victory.
Read more: http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/tennis/news/story?id=5990613
