PERTH, Australia (AP) — France secured a place in the Hopman Cup final when Richard Gasquet finished off a 6-2, 6-4 win over Fernando Verdasco on his fifth match point Thursday to secure an insurmountable 2-0 lead over Spain.
Marion Bartoli gave the French a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three match when she beat Anabel Medina Garrigues 6-2, 6-4 in the women’s singles, and Gasquet ensured France would finish atop Group B when he fended off Verdasco in 78 minutes.
Bartoli, the 2007 Wimbledon finalist, said she’s “hoping this kind of level will take me far this year. I had a good season in 2011 but I want to get even better in 2012.”
