Hyderabad: China defeated Japan 2-1 in a league tie of the Asian Hopman Cup tournament here on Friday but India remained the favourites to make the final from the group.

China, who had lost 3-0 to top seeds India on the opening day, put up an inconsistent display but still overcame an unimpressive Japan under lights in the second tie of group A.

China and Japan shared the two singles to make the mixed doubles a point of interest for the first time in the tournament before China won it 6-0, 6-1 in under an hour.

China's 205th-ranked woman player Zhang Shuai, who had gone down tamely to Sania Mirza of India on Thursday, put the team ahead with a hard-fought 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 win over Tomoko Yonemura, ranked 40 places below her.

Zhang managed a service break in the sixth game to win the first set and after trading breaks in the second, lost the 10th game to gift away the set largely because of unforced errors.

In the deciding set, the Chinese player went a break down in the second game before hitting some crisp shots down the line at crucial junctures for breaks in the fifth and ninth games.

"I did not play well enough in the singles today. My serves were not up to the mark and I had to really slog it out," she said.

But Japan bounced back against China when 488th-ranked Yuichi Sugita defeated Gong Mao-Xin, the lowest ranked player in the fray at 997, 6-1, 6-3.


"Sugita's baseline play was much better. Also, I did not serve well and made a number of unforced errors," said Gong.
India and Japan will play the final league match of the three-team group on Saturday to decide Sunday's finalist.
In group B, Thailand had a 2-1 verdict against the Philippines, who crashed out with their second defeat after a 3-0 loss to Taiwan on Thursday.


Nudnida Laungnam, a 321st ranked woman player, scored an impressive 6-4, 6-4 win over Czarina Arevalo. Weerapat Doakmaiklee, ranked 865, overcame Patrick Tierro 6-7 (4-7), 6-3, 7-5 in the men's singles to ensure a decisive lead.


The Philippines salvaged some pride by winning the mixed doubles 6-3, 6-4. Taiwan and Thailand will fight it out for a place in the final.

The winner of the six-team tournament will play in the main Hopman Cup event in Australia in January.