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The Hopman Cup final between France and Poland will be decided by the mixed doubles after world No.5 Agnieszka Radwanska beat Alize Cornet 6-3 6-7 (9-7) 6-2 in a drama-filled clash at Perth Arena on Saturday night.
World No.10 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga earlier overcame a scare to beat Grzegorz Panfil 6-3 3-6 6-3 in the men’s singles rubber to give France a 1-0 lead .
Cornet looked down and out after losing the first set and going 5-3 down in the second.
The world No.27 managed to save a match point, but she broke out in tears a few points later when a series of long-winded rallies left her struggling to breathe.
Despite Cornet being on the verge of collapsing, match umpire James Keothabong gave her a time violation.
The Frenchwoman battled on, and finally won the game on her seventh break point before winning the 80-minute second set in a tiebreak.
But she had no energy left for the deciding set, with Radwanska securing the epic win in 153 minutes.
“I was trying to tell the chair umpire not to give me a time violation,” Cornet said.
“I was like ‘I can’t breathe’.
“He didn’t see it unfortunately.
“Fortunately I got my breath back a few seconds after and I could continue.”
Earlier, Tsonga looked to be cruising after winning the first set in just 29 minutes.
But his inability to convert any of his seven break points in the second set came back to haunt him as world No.288 Panfil converted his sole break point.
Tsonga was filthy on himself for missing those chances, but he made good in the third set as he secured the win in 100 minutes.
“I’m not too happy with my performance,” said Tsonga, who won just two of his 15 break points.
“But it’s good preparation for the Australian Open. I’ve played some good matches here.
“I’ve been able to see where I’m good and where I’m very bad.
“With this I can do a bit of work and do better.”
Panfil was only called up for the Hopman Cup after world No.21 Jerzy Janowicz pulled out with injury.
The 26-year-old had racked up just $A154,294 in ATP career earnings before the mixed-teams tournament.
But he will walk away with $150,000 if Poland win the final, or $90,000 if they lose.
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