Sportmaster International

Perth, Australia - Arnaud Clement demonstrated his impeccable doubles pedigree as he led France to a 2-1 comeback victory over Argentina on Sunday at the Hopman Cup.

The 30-year-old who won Wimbledon last summer with compatriot Michel Llodra, guided teenage partner Tatiana to success in the doubles to ice the Group A tie. ‘It was tough singles match, it was the first of the season and it’s winter in France, minus 5 Celsius,’ said Clement, who dropped his singles against Juan Chela 6-3, 6-1. ‘I was very happy to win the doubles.

It would have been tough to have lost two matches in same day.’ Clement, the 2001 Australian Open finalist, produced 35 unforced errors in singles to doom his early chances as he played the eight- nation team event for the second time. Golovin got the ball rolling for France as she hammered Gisela Dulko 6-4, 6-3. Golovin, Russian-born and Florida-based, profited as Dulko suffered with left hip discomfort, taking treatment twice on court but managing to finish the contest. ‘We both struggled today,’ said the 19-year-old winner, whose opponent hurt her leg in the first set. ‘It was tough to get a rhythm but I now have two days to recover. ‘I had a month off then two weeks of conditioning in Miami and two weeks of training. I was a little bit tired, but I think I started off the new year fresh.’ Serbia struggled past Asian tennis minnow Taiwan 3-0 lead on the back of a pair of patchy singles performances. The group A affair between top-seed Serbia and Asian qualifier Taiwan provided a sloppy start to the season for both Jelena Jankovic and Novak Djokovic, each ranked third in the world Jankovic stopped the rot after losing her last six matches of the 2007 campaign with a defeat of Su-Wei Hsieh 6-4, 6-4. The Asian, ranked 157, had never faced a Top 10 player and competed in only four WTA-level events in 2007. Jankovic was competing for the first time since post-season sinus surgery which limited her training to just a fortnight. ‘It was my first match after two months of rest and recovery,’ said Jankovic. ‘I didn’t expect to play my best tennis. ‘I wasn’t thrilled with how I played, I’ll try to keep improving and get a rhythm again.’ Jankovic converted on only seven of 15 break points chances, struck six double-faults among 29 unforced errors. The fitness of sometimes-fragile Novak Djokovic also came into question as the 20-year-old edged past over Yen-Hsun Lu 7-5, 2-6, 6- 3. After winning a 75-minute opening set and taking six set points to do it, Djokovic’s level dropped like a stone in the second as the Asian challenger levelled at a set each. Djokovic took treatment for his back - a consistent weak spot in his game - stretched out flat on court. ‘It was nothing,’ said the US Open finalist who made his tennis breakthrough last season. ‘I’ll be fit for the (concluding) mixed doubles.’ The Serbs closed out the day with a mixed doubles win, 3-6, 6-2, 10-8 (match tiebreak). American Serena Williams arrived two days late as planned in West Australia from Florida, taking to the practise court for an hour against a pair of male partners. © 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur