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| July 14, 2005 | Thursday | Jumadi-us-Sani 6, 1426 |
Australia bent on revenge
LONDON, July 13: Australia will this weekend turn to the surface on which they built their proud Davis Cup tradition when the 28-time champions seek to avenge a humiliating whitewash by Argentina.
The relentless Latin American baseliners destroyed Australia 5-0 the last time the countries clashed in the men’s team competition in 2002.
That match, however, was on power-sapping Buenos Aires clay and Australia were under-strength and out of their depth.
This time, with a semi-final spot at stake, Australia have the advantage of a home grass court and the talismanic Lleyton Hewitt back in their ranks.
The Argentine team of Guillermo Coria, David Nalbandian, Gaston Etlis and Mariano Puerta were the first to fire a psychological volley in the run-up to this grudge match when they claimed the transportable grass court at the Sydney International Tennis Centre was a slow surface, suited to their baseline play.
There is no love lost between the teams.
Hewitt upset the Argentines at the Australian Open in January with his aggressive on-court gesturing and shouting.
Juan-Ignacio Chela became so incensed by Hewitt’s antics that he spat in his direction, incurring a fine.
The winner of the Sydney tie could afford to be confident of reaching December’s final, with the unheralded Netherlands or Slovakia lined up in the semifinals.
The Slovaks upset defending champions Spain in the opening round but have never reached a semifinal.
The Dutch team will be without Sjeng Schalken, who was central to their defeat of Switzerland in the first round, but team spirit was still high.
A toothless Russia will have its work cut out when stylish France take to the indoor claycourt at their Moscow Olympic Stadium.
The hosts are without Marat Safin who is taking four weeks off to let a knee inflammation heal and may now be without their second-best player Nikolay Davydenko with a wrist injury.
After celebrating Russia’s Fed Cup semifinal triumph over the US last weekend, Tarpischev is looking to become the first captain of any nation to steer his country to Fed Cup and Davis Cup success in the same year.
Waiting in the semifinals will be Croatia or Romania.
Meanwhile, Safin, the Australian Open champion, should be fit for next month’s US Open after undergoing keyhole surgery on his left knee, Russia’s Davis Cup captain Shamil Tarpishchev said.
Safin, troubled by pain in his left knee for the last two months, had a small operation this week in Italy to repair a ligament tear.
The third Grand Slam of the year begins at Flushing Meadows in New York on Aug 29.—Reuters
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