Perth, Australia  - Surprise Slovakia stayed on course for a possible third Hopman Cup title, working nearly eight hours into early Wednesday to defeat Australia 2-1 in the latest finish in the event's history.

Lleyton Hewitt almost re-lived the heroics which took him to number one nearly a decade ago, winning his second singles in 24 hours.

But he and Casey Dellacqua failed to fire in the closing stages of the deciding mixed doubles against Dominik Hrbaty and Dominika Cibulkova, the Slovaks winning 6-7
(4-7), 6-3, 10-4 (match tiebreak).

The hosts at the eight-nation tournament now at least have a rest day after the 1:40 a. m. finish, with Hewitt remaining confident that he has made a complete comeback from August hip surgery.

"I'm just glad I didn't have to pull out," joked the two-time Grand Slam champion. "The hip is not too bad, this is what tests it - being able to back it up day after day.

"It's really intense out there, Hopefully I'll pull up fine after a day off and be sweet on Thursday."

Dellacqua lost her second singles match of the event as she went down to Cibulkova 7-5, 6-2. Hewitt won his singles as he outlasted 31- year-old Dominik Hrbaty - back from elbow surgery - 7-6 (7-4), 6-7 (1-7), 6-4.

The mixed doubles began near midnight, with no quarter given by either team.

In the morning tie, Simone Bolelli and Flavia Pennetta staged an upset to deny France, earning a 2-1 victory.

The untried Italian pair iced their surprise success with a mixed doubles victory, defeating off-the-boil Gilles Simon and Alize Cornet 6-4, 7-6.

France had been a pre-event favourite for a possible sweep into the final, but didn't reckon on the consistency of their Italian opposition.

"We had our chances but they played better today," said Cornet. "We're disappointed but we still have a chance to go into the final."

Bolelli scored a breakthrough victory over world number six Simon 6-3, 6-3 to draw his nation level 1-1 after French number one Cornet dominated Pennetta 7-5, 6-2 in their singles.

The 38th-ranked Bolelli found a seam of form to stop Simon, who beat Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic last season.

Simon said he may have over-trained. "I wasn't moving like usual. I worked a lot in the last days and I got tired. I will rest for Russia (Thursday). I need my legs to play well."

Bolelli played what he called the match of his career to salvage the tie. "I finally won against a Top Ten player, it's the first time," said the delighted Italian. "I played well, served very good and played aggressive.

"I missed a few balls but it was almost perfect for me."

Simon was well off his game, striking 22 unforced errors and losing serve four times.

"After winning the first set, I had confidence," said Bolelli. "I played good tactics. I know that I have the game to play well against top guys." (dpa)