by Pretoria News

The loss means the French pairing of Alize Cornet and Gilles Simon need to beat second-seeded Russian siblings Marat Safin and Dinara Safina to have any chance of reaching Friday's final.

The Italian team of Flavia Pennetta and Simone Bolelli, beaten on Sunday by the Russians, also remain in the hunt for the final with a tie against rank outsiders Taiwan tomorrow.

Cornet beat Pennetta 7-5, 6-2 before |Simon, who reached a career-high sixth ranking this week, slumped 6-3, 6-3 to |Italian journeyman Bolelli. The Italians then claimed the deciding mixed doubles, 6-4, 7-6 (7/2).

"It was good news when I woke up this morning but I lost two matches, so it didn't change anything," said Simon of his new ranking.

With a couple of days to rest, Simon said the French could regroup and beat Russia tomorrow.

"We really want to play the final and we will give everything in the next match," he said.

Cornet, who rose one place to a |career-best 15 in the new WTA rankings, was also thrilled with her first win against Pennetta.

"I am proud of my game, I had never beaten Flavia before," she said. "It was a really good match for me, but I am really disappointed we lost in the doubles."

France's best Hopman Cup performance in 15 previous appearances was in the 1998 final, when Cedric Pioline and Mary Pierce were beaten by the Slovak Republic. - Sapa-AFP

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