Aussies hope grass will help them soar

Australian captain John Fitzgerald would like to get through this weekend’s Davis Cup final without having to learn the Spanish express...

Australian captain John Fitzgerald would like to get through this weekend’s Davis Cup final without having to learn the Spanish expression for deja vu. It was two years ago this weekend when Australia, faced with playing clay-court specialists from France, decided to lay a grass court over the hardcourt at the Rod Laver Arena to give Lleyton Hewitt and Patrick Rafter a perceived advantage over the opposition.

Rafter pulled up injured for the Sunday reverse singles after losing the doubles match on Saturday with Hewitt and France won the final 3-2, throwing every bit of Australian logic out with the trophy that the Europeans took home with them. Spain is the opponent this time and Australia has decided to do the same – plunking a grass court at the sliding-roofed stadium for the three days of matches beginning Friday.

This time, Hewitt is playing the unfamiliar position of No. 2 for Australia – having seen Mark Philippoussis move ahead of him in the rankings – and the Australians are facing a team with little experience on grass.

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Still, Fitzgerald is taking nothing for granted, not wanting a repeat of two years ago when all the odds were stacked heavily in Australia’s favour. “This is another two-horse race,” said Fitzgerald. “You fight all year to put yourself in this position and give yourself a chance to take home the silverware, but there still is no guarantee when you get here.

“The Spanish team is full of class,” Fitzgerald added. “There is no way you are ever going to play a team of bunnies if you’re in a Davis Cup final.” Hewitt, who hasn’t played in a tournament in nearly two months, is expecting that he’ll take on Spain’s No. 1 player, world third-ranked Juan Carlos Ferrero, in one of Friday’s opening singles matches. Philippoussis is likely to play Carlos Moya, also in the top 10, although Spain could name its grass-court specialist Feliciano Lopez, at tomorrow’s draw.

Hewitt and Ferrero have met six times, never on grass, with each having won three times. They last met in the quarterfinals of the US Open where Hewitt, affected by a hip injury, lost in four sets.