Tennis world No 1 Caroline Wozniacki arrived in Australia four hours before her Hopman Cup match but the Dane was able to shrug off her less than perfect preparations by beating American Bethanie Mattek-Sands 7-6, 6-2.
The victory helped Denmark defeat the United States 2-1 in the mixed team event in Perth.
Spain's Anabel Medina Garrigues and Fernando Verdasco were nearly perfect in mixed doubles at the Hopman Cup on Tuesday, beating China's Li Na and Wu Di 6-0, 6-2 to clinch a 2-1 team victory.
Verdasco also beat Wu 6-3, 6-4 in singles after French Open champion Li gave the Chinese a 1-0 lead with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Medina Garrigues.
Spain won its second match in the competition, giving it a strong chance of advancing to Saturday's final from Group B.
Verdasco arrived in Perth after a short break following Spain's Davis Cup win in December, then beat Lleyton Hewitt of Australia in his opening singles match Sunday.
On Tuesday, Verdasco took a 4-1 lead in the first set, but struggled at times against the 20-year-old Wu, who impressed the Spaniard.
"I think that he's a talented player ... he has very fast hands,'' Verdasco said. "I saw him practice when I was in China playing the Asian Tour last year.''
France, which beat China in its opener Saturday, takes on Australia later Tuesday.
Denmark plays Bulgaria and the Czech Republic takes on the United States in Group A play Wednesday, with Denmark and the Czech Republic going for their second straight wins.