Perth: Lleyton Hewitt dug deep to lead Australia into the Hopman Cup final on Wednesday after his fiancée Kim Clijsters had earlier limped out of the tournament with an ankle injury.

Belgian world No. 2 Clijsters quit after hurting her left ankle while leading Hewitt’s Australian teammate Alicia Molik 6-3, 6-7, 3-2 in the opening singles. A scan revealed she had bruising on her ankle bone and she later withdrew from the tournament.

The injury casts a shadow over her hopes for the upcoming Australian Open with medical experts only prepared to say they were “cautiously optimistic” she would be fit in time for the January 19 start of the Grand Slam.

Hewitt followed Clijsters onto court at the Burswood Dome and recovered from a loose first set to beat her Belgian teammate Xavier Malisse 3-6, 6-1, 6-2.

In an ironic twist, Hewitt also needed treatment after turning his left ankle in the third set of his match, but after applying additional strapping he continued and completed the victory.