Australia put faith in grass court
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Ferrero is expected to face Hewitt in the opening match
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MELBOURNE, Australia -- Australia hope that their portable grass court will give them the edge over Spain in the Davis Cup final in Melbourne, starting on Friday.
Spain have usually struggled on the turf, coming off second best twice to the Roy Emerson and John Newcombe Australian teams of the 1960s and now the Aussies believe it will prove their undoing again.
Spain may have two of the world's top 10 in Juan Carlos Ferrero and Carlos Moya, but Australia's traditional affinity with grass makes them the decided favorites going into the 91st final.
Yet the Australians have not forgotten their experience against France in the 2001 Davis Cup final when the revolutionary portable grass court was unveiled.
It was all set up for Patrick Rafter and Lleyton Hewitt to claim the glory, but the French, inspired by Nicolas Escude, upset their grand plans in a euphoric 3-2 victory for their ninth Cup win.
The Australians have been assured that the portable court is much improved since then, when it broke up and provided uneven bounce.
Hewitt and Mark Philippoussis complained it was playing slow when they practised on it earlier this week, but captain John Fitzgerald is expecting it to be fast and true by Friday's opening singles.
Hewitt, playing second fiddle to Philippoussis because his ranking has slipped to 17 after an inactive two months, is expected to open against world No. 3 Ferrero, with No.9 Philippoussis facing No.7 Moya.
"I feel like if I can beat Juan Carlos on day one it gives Australia a huge advantage," Hewitt said.
"That's all my focus is on, on Ferrero on Friday, and I've probably been given the opportunity in this tie to crack the whole Davis Cup final wide open on day one."
Moya, who has avoided playing on grass for two years, will have to block out his antipathy if he is to subdue the big-serving Philippoussis, who led Australia to victory over France in the 1999 Davis Cup final on clay in Nice.
"It isn't going to be easy, but we come here to win," Moya said. "Who knows how difficult it is going to be playing Australia on grass, but we have to accept it."
Great respect
Fitzgerald has great respect for the abilities of Ferrero and Moya and said : "They're pretty accomplished on it, although they're probably more accomplished on a red clay court.
"When you go on to a surface that is probably not your favorite surface I'm sure you think about it, but these guys are experienced players and they've played on grass and know what it is like and the bottom line is that they're great players."
The Spanish are keeping their lineup to themselves, with captain Jordi Arrese saying he will announce his two singles players at Thursday's official draw, amid speculation that Feliciano Lopez, who has some grass form, may come in for his debut.
Lopez is likely to partner the experienced Alex Corretja in Saturday's doubles against the Australian combination of 15-time major doubles champion Todd Woodbridge and Wayne Arthurs.
The experienced Woodbridge believes Australia have developed into a top class team.
"We have got a big gun with Flip (Philippoussis) who is so dangerous the way he plays and guys are scared of him and you've got Lleyton who guys are scared of because they know they have got to stay on court for four hours to beat him and Wayne and I have been two of the best doubles players in the world this year," he said.
"The whole core of the team blends very well, it's a good matchup, we cover each other's weaknesses well."
