U.S. beats Netherlands in Hopman Cup match

PERTH, Australia - James Blake won three straight points in the second-set tiebreaker Tuesday to beat Peter Wessels 6-1, 7-6 (4) and help the United States beat the Netherlands 2-1 in the teams' Hopman Cup opener.

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Meghann Shaughnessy, a late addition to the American team for injured No. 1 Lindsay Davenport, beat 15-year-old Michaella Krajicek 7-5, 6-4. Krajicek is the sister of 1996 Wimbledon champion Richard Krajicek.

Blake has an outstanding Hopman Cup record, winning the event in 2003 with Serena Williams and last year with Davenport. Down 5-3 in the second set, Blake broke Wessels' serve, then won the tiebreaker to clinch the best-of-three series.

Krajicek and Wessels then went out and beat Shaughnessy and Blake 7-5, 7-5 in mixed doubles.

Krajicek, the world's No. 1 junior last year, fought off six break points in the seventh game of the first set. Shaughnessy, leading 5-4 in the second set, broke Krajicek's serve to end the match.

Germany improved to 2-0 by beating Italy (0-2).

Francesca Schiavone, who has a 4-0 record in Hopman Cup singles play, gave Italy a 1-0 lead with a 6-2, 2-6, 6-2 win over Anna-Lena Groenefeld, but Tommy Haas beat Davide Sanguinetti 6-3, 6-2 to even the match. In the deciding mixed doubles, Haas and Groenefeld won 7-6 (7), 6-4.

On Wednesday, Russia plays Argentina, and Australia takes on the Netherlands.

Blake had a rough 2004. After reaching the fourth round at the Australian Open last year, he reached a career-high ranking of No. 22 with quarterfinal appearances in Scottsdale, Indian Wells and Houston.

But he fractured a vertebra in his neck in training in June, sidelining him for two months. He then became sick with an illness known as Zoster, a condition which affects hearing and vision.

In July, his father died, and Blake played just two more tournaments for the year, slipping to No. 97.

"I really didn't know what to expect coming out here for my first match," Blake said.

"I saw that I could play some of my best tennis in the first set and, even when I got down a break in the second set, I could come back and still play well and be composed out here. I never knew if that was going to come back after such a tough year last year."