Germany have come from a set down to beat Australia in a live Fast4 mixed doubles rubber to qualify for Saturday night's Hopman Cup final in Perth.
Australia looked set to complete an upset win in the tie and elevate Belgium to the play-off against the Swiss pair of Roger Federer and Belinda Bencic.
Thanasi Kokkinakis and Daria Gavrilova took the first set from Alexander Zverev and Angelique Kerber and led 3-1 in the final set tiebreak, but the Germans duo recovered to win 1-4 4-1 4-3 (7-3).
The final set was not without controversy either, with Kokkinakis forfeiting a point after a powerful forehand hit Kerber in the hip.
He was probably in a generous mood after he produced some of his best tennis to come from a set down to upset world No.4 Zverev in their singles clash.
Earlier, former No.1 Kerber got the Germans off to a great start when making light work of Gavrilova, winning 6-1 6-2 in just 58 minutes.
Gavrilova, ranked No.25, started strongly, earning four break points in the opening game of the match, but failed to convert any of them.
Kerber, ranked No.21, quickly found her touch, hitting 10 winners to the Australian's one in the opening set to take the lead in just 23 minutes.
Gavrilova also failed to convert the only chance she had to break the German's serve in the second set.
Kokkinakis' hitting against Zverev was world class and he sent down 17 aces to win a thriller, 5-7 7-6 (7-4) 6-4, in 2h 41m.
The World No.209 Kokkinakis was in the match from the outset, but couldn't earn a break of serve in the opening set.
While he finally found his rhythm on serve, he still needed eight set points to claim the second set and level the rubber.
The 21-year-old Australian needed only one break point in the third set though, to take a 3-2 lead and then held on for an impressive victory in a high-standard content.
A 19-year-old Roger Federer teamed up with then world No.1 Martina Hingis to win Switzerland's last and second trophy in 2001.
The Germans are aiming to win their third Hopman Cup title, but their first since Boris Becker and Anke Huber teamed up in 1995.
Share
