Australia look to be out of contention for the Hopman Cup final after losing their tie against seventh seeded India 2-1.

At 1-1 after the singles rubbers, former world No.8 Alicia Molik and partner Peter Luczak went down in a nail biter against rising Indian star Sonia Mirza and Rohan Bopanna in the mixed doubles, losing 6-2 4-6 and 13-11 in the match tie breaker.

Molik and Luczak now face the unlikely challenge of winning all three matches against US superstar Serena Williams and partner Mardy Fish on Thursday to even stay in the race for the final.

The 267th ranked Bopanna, who lost his singles rubber against Luczak 7-6 6-3, came into his own in the doubles.

"Rohan was so quick today, we really didn't have many chances," the 56th ranked Molik said.

The sixth seeded Australians looked to be beaten, having lost the first set and down a break in the second, when Luczak broke back in the eighth game, turning the momentum.

In a see-sawing tie breaker, India finally prevailed despite some stunning aces from Molik.

Mirza, the highest ever ranked Indian woman at 31, said it could have gone either way.

"Anything can happen in a mixed doubles, especially with this third set tie break. I think it was a very entertaining match," Mirza said.

India has kept their record of never losing a Hopman Cup mixed doubles match.

Earlier, Molik was unable to consolidate on her victory over higher ranked Czech Lucie Safarova on Saturday, losing 6-2 2-6 6-4 to Mirza despite a late comeback and partisan crowd support.

India could still make the decider of the $1 million tournament, but would need to emphatically win their tie against the Czech Republic and see the US comprehensively beaten by Australia.

At this stage, the US is in the box seat to reach the final, having won ties against India and the Czechs.

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