Leconte, Halard Win for France

Henri Leconte and Julie Halard combined Sunday to lift France to a 2-1 victory over Sweden in the first round of the Hopman Cup exhibition tennis tournament at the Perth Superdome in Australia.

Halard beat Catarina Lindqvist, 6-4, 7-5, in the opening women’s singles, and Leconte beat Peter Lundgren, 6-4, 2-6, 6-3. The Swedes won the mixed doubles, 8-6, in a pro set.

France advanced to the quarterfinals against Boris Becker and Steffi Graf of Germany.

Leconte was playing his first match since combining with Guy Forget to lift France to an upset victory over the United States in the Davis Cup final. The 28-year-old left-hander had 14 aces against Lundgren.

“Winning the Davis Cup has helped me a lot to prepare for all my other matches, including here,” Leconte said. “I’m always ready to represent my country, because we have been lifted by the way tennis has gone up in popularity since we won the Cup. It is the best thing for a player.”

Other top pairings include the brother-and-sister Spanish team of Emilio Sanchez and Arantxa Sanchez Vicario and the American combination of Derrick Rostagno and Amy Frazier.