Heather Watson has kept Great Britain’s Hopman Cup chances alive with a straight-sets win over Germany’s Sabine Lisicki.

Watson, ranked 55 in the world, lost just four points on her serve on Friday to claim the opening set and broke the world No.32’s serve three times en route to a 6-3 6-4 victory.

Lisicki required treatment on her left quad after losing the opening set. The 26-year-old is returning from a knee injury that kept her sidelined after the US Open in August.

World No.2 Andy Murray needs to beat Alex Zverev in their singles match for Britain to remain a chance of making Saturday’s final. However, the Australian Green pairing of Nick Kyrgios and Daria Gavrilova can secure their spot in the playoff against Ukraine with victory on Friday night over France.