Dominika Cibulkova put her brain into neutral and let her instincts take over for a nail-biting 6-7 (3-7), 6-1, 6-4 victory against Dinara Safina to give the Slovak Republic a 1-0 lead over Russia in the Friday final of the Hopman Cup.

The 19th-ranked Cibulkova notched her first ace of the evening to produce a match point, which was followed a a return wide from the Russian.

Cibilkova admitted she encountered a case of nerves as she led in the final set at the eight-nation team competition.

"I was thinking too much," confessed the winner. "I was leading 5-1 and suddenly it was 5-4. I was thinking of the final. But I had to stop and start to play my game.

"I was really fighting, but this is the first time I beat her," said Cibulkova of the world number three Russian. "I"m just so happy, but we are still one victory away from this title. And the last step is always the toughest."

Domink Hrbaty was aiming to try and wrap up the tie and the title as he faced Marat Safin.

The pair are long-time rivals and practice partners, standing 7-7 over their careers. They last met in 2005, splitting two meetings.

Cibulkova dropped the opening set against Safina in a tiebreaker but immediately began her fightback.

The Slovak lost twice to the Russian in 2008, but past history made little difference in the heat of battle.

Cibulkova levelled at a set apiece as she ran away with the second and continued her progress in the third.

Safina rallied from 1-5 down but fell short in the end after more than two and a half hours.

Slovakia won the Hopman title in 2005, with Hrbaty on that team.