Serbia’s Novak Djokovic returns the ball to Spain’s Nicolas Almagro during the final day of the Mubadala Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Saturday, Dec. 29, 2012. AP/Kamran Jebreili
PERTH — Novak Djokovic showed little sign of fatigue as he defeated Andreas Seppi 6-3, 6-4 on Monday to give Serbia an unassailable 2-0 lead over Italy at the Hopman Cup.
Djokovic arrived in Perth less than 24 hours before he stepped on court, but still had a straight-sets win to add to Ana Ivanovic’s earlier 6-0, 6-4 victory over Francesca Schiavone, giving Serbia a win in the group-stage clash of the mixed teams event.
The two teams are in Group A, where Australia won the opening contest over Germany on Saturday when Andrea Petkovic had to retire from the singles and forfeit the mixed after suffering a knee injury.