The Hindu : Sport / Tennis : Aussies look to Hewitt, Arthurs

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Friday, Jul 15, 2005

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Aussies look to Hewitt, Arthurs

SYDNEY: Australia is pinning its hopes on Lleyton Hewitt and Wayne Arthurs forming an instant winning combination to give it an edge over Argentina in its Davis Cup quarterfinal starting on Friday.

With Mark Philippoussis unavailable through injury and Todd Woodbridge retired, the threadbare Australians have been forced to place a heavy workload on the country's two top-ranked players.

Hewitt will open the three-day tie against former French Open finalist Guillermo Coria in the first singles match before Arthurs faces David Nalbandian.

The Australians will then pair up for Saturday's doubles rubber against Nalbandian and Mariano Puerta before Hewitt faces Nalbandian and Arthurs meets Coria in Sunday's concluding reverse singles.

Everything points to a classic tie and if the rankings are any guide, the singles may well finish 2-2. Hewitt is ranked two in the world and Arthurs 76 while Nalbandian stands 10th, five places above Coria, leaving the doubles as the decisive match.

"The doubles is absolutely pivotal," Australia's non-playing captain John Fitzgerald told a news conference after Thursday's draw.

"No point in the singles or doubles is more important but if you're 1-1 or 2-0 (down) after the first day, then the doubles is crucial."

Hewitt and Arthurs have never played Davis Cup doubles together before but Fitzgerald said he had no reservations about uniting them at short notice.

"We have a lot of respect for the opposition and while we're absolutely not over-confident we are quietly confident even though we know there's a big job ahead," he said.

Added burden

Hewitt also shrugged off concerns about the added burden of playing doubles and said he was hoping to turn the pressure on the South Americans by winning his opening singles match.

"Obviously I think if I can go out there and get the job done then it could put a lot of pressure on Nalbandian coming into the second match," Hewitt said.

"If I go out there and make a good start for Australia he's got to come out against Wayne, who really lifts in Davis Cup."

The importance of the doubles also played a definitive role in the make-up of the Argentine team with its captain Alberto Mancini opting for Nalbandian ahead of Gaston Etlis to partner Puerta.

Mancini said Nalbandian's high work ethic and big match experience had convinced him he could cope with playing three matches in as many days.

Nalbandian was also quick to play down concerns about Australia's decision to choose a grasscourt, saying his players were completely comfortable on the surface after spending the past month preparing for and playing at Wimbledon.

"It's not the best surface for us and I think Australia is stronger than us on grass but it's great for us coming off Wimbledon," said Nalbandian, runner-up to Hewitt at the All-England club in 2002 and a quarterfinalist again this year.

"I think that we have a little chance to win this because I believe in these guys, I believe in this team and I believe that we're going to win."

In Bratislava, Slovakia's top player, Dominik Hrbaty, will play Raemon Sluiter of the Netherlands on Friday in the first singles match. Thursday's draw also pitted Slovakia's Karol Beck against Peter Wessels in the other opening singles match.

In Saturday's doubles, Beck and Michal Mertinak will face Wessels and Paul Haarhuis. The reverse singles are scheduled for Sunday.

The quarterfinals line-up: Australia vs Argentina (Sydney); Slovakia vs The Netherlands (Bratislava); Russia vs France (Moscow); Croatia vs Romania (Split). — Agencies

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