Ukraine family act into the final

TENNIS Ukraine's family connection triumphed once again at the Hopman Cup in Perth yesterday as Andrei Medvedev and Natalia Medvedeva ousted the top-seeded Czech Republic to reach tomorrow's final.

The Czech pairing of Jana Novotna and Petr Korda, bidding to put their country into the final for the third time in four years, were unexpectedly toppled in their respective singles rubbers to give Ukraine an unassailable lead in the best-of- three tie.

"We are disappointed we didn't make history, but I think we made history with the number of double faults we served," Novotna said.

Medvedeva enjoyed her second win over a top-six player in three days as she held off a Novotna fightback to win the women's singles 6-1, 6-7, 6-3.

Her brother then showed equal determination to recover from 4-1 and 0-30 down in the second set to clinch the tie with a tense 7-6, 7-6 success against Korda, who saved three match points before losing the final tie-break 7-5. Ukraine will now face the winners of today's semi-final between Germany and France.

Medvedev's first thoughts after victory were dominated by the prospect of challenging his girlfriend, Anke Huber, in the final. "I hope Germany win because I'm really looking forward to a live mixed doubles against Anke,'' he said