Not lost in this final, when it might easily have been, was grace and dignity.
The three days were conspicuous for their humour and spirit, culminating in tributes from Fitzgerald to Escude and Sebastien Grosjean, from French coach Guy Forget to Hewitt and the crowd and, at the end, from the French and Australian supporters to each other.
Never lost throughout the final was a sense of the particular charm of Davis Cup competition. This is a style of tennis in which every point gets a standing ovation and sometimes a fault does, too. A style in which Hewitt, upon winning back a break from Grosjean yesterday leapt like Pat Cash in his moment of victory 1986.
A style in which Hewitt was as pumped up when supporting Arthurs as if he was playing himself, and in which Rafter banged an advertising board like any other spectator in his urgings. It might not have been the last glimpse of Rafter on a tennis court that Australian fans had wanted, but it was a proper glimpse of the man himself."
Greg Baum, journalist