31 December 2013 | Tennis West

Bernard Tomic shook off a heavy training load to keep Australia’s Hopman Cup title hopes alive. Tomic beat Italy’s Andreas Seppi 4-6 6-3 6-2 to level the tie at 1-1 after Sam Stosur slumped to a 6-4 6-4 loss to Flavia Pennetta.

Australia, who lost to Canada 2-1 in their opening tie, need to beat Italy if they are to have any hope of reaching the final. Tomic said he was tired after training for five hours on Monday and another two hours before his match against Seppi.

The world No.51 looked proppy in the second set, but rediscovered his mojo to seal the match in 102 minutes. “I started slow but it was very good tennis,” Tomic said. “Yesterday I trained a lot so I was very tired. “We have to win the mixed doubles now. It’s very important to us.”

Stosur said she was frustrated but not despondent after slumping to consecutive Hopman Cup defeats. Stosur, who suffered a three sets loss to Eugenie Bouchard on Saturday, committed 26 unforced errors against Pennetta.

The 2011 US Open champion has famously struggled to find form during the home tennis summer in recent years, but says there’s no need to panic just yet ahead of next month’s Australian Open. “It’s disappointing not to get a win again. But I thought I played some good tennis,” Stosur said. “Every year I’ve managed to play well at some point. It’s not like you start not so well and then your whole year is shot. Time on court is the most important thing at the moment and that’s why this tournament is so great. “I’m sure with each day I can take a bit more from it and build on what I’ve been doing. “I’m still pretty happy with the way I’m hitting the ball. There’s room for improvement, but I don’t think it’s the worst start I’ve ever had.” Stosur has now lost all five of her meetings with Pennetta, who is ranked 13 places behind the world No.18 Australian.

The Queenslander only committed four double faults for the match, but three of those came in the crucial ninth game of the second set. Those errors gifted Pennetta the only break of the set, with the Italian holding her own serve next game to secure the win in 90 minutes.