The Czech pairing of Lucie Safarova and boyfriend Tomas Berdych came into the tournament ranked third, but were surprisingly beaten by rank outsiders India in their opening round robin clash.

Up against the second seeded pairing of Annabel Medina Garrigues and Tommy Robredo on Wednesday, the Czechs rebounded strongly to notch a 2-1 victory that kept them in the hunt for Friday's final.

Safarova gave her team a perfect start with a gritty three-set win over the higher ranked Medina Garrigues.

The richly talented Berdych then sealed the victory with a comprehensive straight sets win over Robredo.

In the mixed doubles, Spain gained some consolation with a straight sets win, 7-5 6-2.

Despite losing the tie, Spain can still reach the final after beating Croatia in their opening tie.

In the women's singles, the 42nd-ranked Safarova recovered from a set down to beat the 23rd-ranked Medina Garrigues, 4-6 6-4 6-4.

Unforced errors harmed Safarova in the first set, but she maintained the pressure on her opponent, finally breaking in the 10th game of the second set to level the match.

The deciding third set went for almost an hour, but Safarova produced her best tennis when it counted to claim her first win in three meetings with the Spaniard.

"It was great for me," Safarova said.

"I lost the first two times that I have played her, so I really wanted to win one.

"I'm really happy I did so well."

Safarova was beaten by India's Sania Mirza in her first singles match and admitted she again struggled early against Medina Garrigues.

"I felt much more comfortable today," she said.

"In the beginning I didn't play so well and then I improved and hit some good shots."

Safarova said the match practice on the Rebound Ace surface would hold her in good stead for the Australian Open, starting on January 15.

Robredo, a previous Hopman Cup winner, was an impressive winner over fellow top 10 player Mario Ancic on Monday, but had no answer to the power of an in-form Berdych, who made it two wins from two singles matches here.

Ranked six places below his Spanish opponent at 13, Berdych prevailed in a slugging first set and then blitzed Robredo in the second, winning 7-5 6-1.

Berdych was pleased to post such a comfortable victory against a player of Robredo's calibre.

"I expected the same, Tommy is a top 10 player," he said.

"I think that the first set was tough.

"We started the first game and it was so long and I thought that if the whole match was going to be like the first game we were going to be here until midnight.

"At the end of the first set I made some good shots and I won the first set. "After that something changed and I started playing really well."