DAY 3

Australia beats Switzerland 3-2

GENEVA, Switzerland, Feb 12 AAP - Australia is through to the quarter-finals of the Davis Cup World Group after downing Switzerland 3-2 in Geneva.

Chris Guccione won the fifth rubber with a brilliant display of serving, beating Swiss George Bastl 7-5 6-3 7-6 (9-7) after delivering 39 aces.

Australia will play Belarus in the quarter-final on April 7-9 in Australia, with Melbourne's Kooyong and Melbourne Park bidding along with Adelaide and Canberra.

As expected Switzerland brought in Bastl at the expense of Michael Lammer, who was well beaten by Peter Luczak on day one. Bastl is considered something of a bad omen for Swiss tennis fans, with a career Davis Cup record of 5-8.

But for Australians he represents good fortune, as the most recent time Australia won a live fifth rubber in Davis Cup was also against Bastl when Mark Philippoussis beat him in the first round of 2000.

This was the first time Australia had played a live fifth rubber since losing the 2001 final to France in Melbourne. Guccione clinched the first set on his seventh break point in the 12th and final game.

While Guccione's serving prowess was well known, Bastl at times appeared unprepared for the power of the Victorian's groundstrokes. After 15 aces in the first set, Guccione followed up with a further 15 in the second.

He broke Bastl in the eighth game and then served out the second set.
The third went on serve to a tiebreak, where Bastl had one set point but which Guccione claimed on his third match-point.

Earlier, Stanislas Wawrinka kept the tie alive for Switzerland with a 6-4 6-2 6-7 (7-9) 6-2 win over Peter Luczak.
It was a game effort by the 20-year-old who was playing his third rubber in as many days and who had been required to shoulder the burden of number one player for the hosts after the withdrawal of Roger Federer.
 

Guccione clinches fifth rubber for Australia

 Australia's Chris Guccione defeated Switzerland's George Bastl 75 63 76(7) in the fifth and deciding rubber in the Davis Cup by BNP Paribas World Group first round tie in Geneva. Australia win the tie 3-2, and will now be home to Belarus in the World Group quarterfinals in April.

In a tense and service-dominated final rubber, Guccione hit a total of 39 aces in the 2 hour 17 minute match and saved all six break points that Bastl earned.

Swiss captain Severin Luthi had decided late on Saturday to substitute world No. 137 Bastl for Michael Lammer, who lost
his Friday match against Luczak. Bastl saved two match points in the third set tiebreak and was unable to convert a set point of his own before Guccione hit the winning shot.

Earlier on Sunday, Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka had kept the hosts, minus world No. 1 Roger Federer, in the running, with a win over Peter Luczak to level the score at 2-2.

Wawrinka, showing little sign of tiring on his third straight day on the indoor clay, overpowered his Australian rival 64 62 67(7) 62 at the Palexpo Arena.

The Swiss world No. 51 wasted two match-point chances in the third set, which he went on to lose in a tiebreak, before coming back in the fourth.

It was the second singles success of the weekend for the 20-year-old who led the home fans' hopes in the absence of Federer, sitting out after his Australian Open win last month. Australia were also missing their top player with world No. 11 Lleyton Hewitt nursing a sore ankle.

"I'm very happy with the way these three days have gone," Wawrinka told reporters.

Reacting to Swiss media criticism of Federer for not supporting his national team in the tie, Wawrinka said the player was entitled to a break.

"With all that he has already done for Switzerland ... it's a bit too easy to criticise him for not being here," Wawrinka, speaking in French, told a news conference.

He added that he had spoken with and exchanged text messages with Federer over the weekend.

Luczak said the crowd in Geneva was the loudest he had played in front of and may have given Wawrinka a psychological
advantage in the contest.

"It felt like he hit about a thousand winners in that match. He was playing well," the Australian said.

Luczak added that he and other Australian players had also received text messages from Hewitt.

Wawrinka defeated Guccione on Friday, before Australian doubles specialists Wayne Arthurs and Paul Hanley overpowered Wawrinka and Yves Allegro on Saturday.

Australia, Davis Cup champions 28 times, have now beaten Switzerland in each of their four Davis Cup tussles.

Wawrinka takes it to a fifth rubber

Switzerland's Stanislas Wawrinka swept past Peter Luczak 64 62 67(4) 62 in the reverse singles to level the score at 2-2 in their Davis Cup by BNP Paribas World Group first round tie on Sunday. The tie will be decided on the outcome of the match between Swiss George Bastl and Australia's Chris Guccione.

Swiss captain Severin Luthi substituted world No. 137 Bastl for Michael Lammer, who lost his Friday singles match against Luczak.

In his third straight day on the indoor clay court, 20-year-old Wawrinka showed few signs of tiring and overpowered his Australian rival to the delight of a clamorous crowd at the Palexpo Arena. The Swiss world No. 51 wasted two match-point chances in the third set, which he went on to lose in a tiebreak, before coming back in the fourth set for the match.

It was the second singles success of the weekend for Wawrinka, who has led the home fans' hopes in the absence of world No. 1 Roger Federer, sitting out after his Australian Open win last month.

Wawrinka beat Guccione 75 36 64 76(6) on Friday, before Australian doubles specialists Wayne Arthurs and Paul Hanley overpowered Wawrinka and Yves Allegro on Saturday.

Australia has beaten Switzerland in each of their three previous Davis Cup tussles but is without Lleyton Hewitt in Geneva. Hewitt, ranked 11th in the world, withdrew to rest a sore ankle.
 

Aussies take the lead in Geneva

Peter Luczak secured an early Davis Cup lead for Australia on Friday with a 16 63 60 63 win over Switzerland’s Michael Lammer in their Davis Cup by BNP Paribas World Group first round tie in Geneva.

Luczak, ranked No. 116, had a shaky first set on the indoor clay court but soon overpowered the 210th-ranked Lammer with fierce shots from the back of the court.

Australia have defeated Switzerland in each of their three previous Davis Cup encounters but both teams are missing their top players. Roger Federer, the Swiss world number one, is taking a break after his Australian Open win and Australia’s world No. 11 Lleyton Hewitt is resting a sore ankle.

A boisterous group of Australian fans cheered on 26-year-old Luczak, one holding a sign reading: “No Lleyton, No Worries.”

Later on Friday, Australian Chris Guccione will play Switzerland’s Stanislas Wawrinka in their first head-to-head. At 51st in the world, Wawrinka is the highest-ranked player in the weekend contest at the Geneva Arena.

DAY 1

Wawrinka draws Switzerland level

 Switzerland and Australia are level at 1-1 after the opening day of their Davis Cup by BNP Paribas World Group first round tie on Friday.

Peter Luczak put Australia ahead with a 16 63 60 63 win over Michael Lammer before Stanislas Wawrinka, roared on by home fans waving flags, banging drums, blowing horns and clanging bells, hit back to defeat Chris Guccione 75 36 64 76.

World No. 51 Wawrinka, the highest-ranked player in the tie, battled for nearly three hours with fellow 20-year-old Guccione before snatching the fourth-set tiebreak 8-6.

Earlier, a small but boisterous contingent of Australian spectators cheered Luczak to victory.

Luczak, ranked 116th, recovered from a shaky first set on the indoor clay to overpower the 210th-ranked Lammer with fierce shots from the back of the court.

The 26-year-old Australian, who also beat Lammer in their last meeting, said it took him time to relax.

“I was a bit nervous to start,” Luczak told reporters.

Australia have defeated Switzerland in each of their three previous Davis Cup encounters but the two teams are missing their top players this time.

Federer is taking a break after his Australian Open title triumph while world number 11 Lleyton Hewitt is resting a sore ankle.

One confident Australian fan dressed in green and yellow held up a sign which read: “No Lleyton, No Worries”.

Play continues on Saturday with a doubles match between Australians Wayne Arthurs and Paul Hanley and Switzerland’s George Bastl and Yves Allegro.

Arthurs and Hanley put Australia 2-1 up

Arthurs and Hanley put Australia 2-1 up on Switzerland Doubles specialists. Wayne Arthurs and Paul Hanley gave Australia a 2-1 lead over Switzerland in their Davis Cup by BNP Paribas World Group first-round match on Saturday.

The pair defeated Stanislas Wawrinka and Yves Allegro 76 64 46 76 after successive aces by Allegro had taken the fourth set into a tiebreak.

Defeat was hard to bear for the Swiss, who were cheered on by a stadium full of noisy fans wearing red and white. Allegro cried into his towel on the sidelines after the match.

 

"We're feeling good, says Fitzgerald

Sunday line-ups could still change

Lead up

Hewitt's absence a bonus: Rafter
February 8, 2006

QUEENSLAND-bound tennis great Pat Rafter believes Lleyton Hewitt's absence from this weekend's first round Davis Cup tie against Switzerland has given the Australia team a greater chance of victory.

Rafter today cast doubt over whether the world's best player, Swiss star Roger Federer, would have withdrawn if Hewitt, who is resting a jarred left ankle, was fit and available.

Federer's withdrawal from the tie, to be played on clay in Geneva, has opened the door for an inexperienced Australia team to strike despite being clear underdogs.

The make-up of the team will be finalised by captain John Fitzgerald tomorrow but Victorian pair Chris Guccione and Peter Luczak appear set to feature in the singles.

Veteran Wayne Arthur and newcomer Paul Hanley are the likely doubles pairing with world No.49 Stanislas Wawrinka set to spearhead the home team.

Rafter described Hewitt's withdrawal as a "catch 22" situation before throwing his support behind Guccione and Luczak to get the job done.

"It gives the guys a chance," Rafter said of Federer's absence.

"If Lleyton played I think Federer would have made himself available in a heartbeat.

"It's a catch 22. Lleyton's a big loss but so is Federer."

"I can't see Wayne playing singles," he said.

"You've got to give the young guys like Chris Guccione a go. That's my feelings anyway.

"It'll be interesting to see how Paul goes in the doubles because he hasn't played there before and there's a lot of pressure."

He said he would call Fitzgerald to wish the team luck prior to the start of the tie.

Rafter also told reporters in Brisbane today of his desire to relocate back to Queensland at the end of the year with wife Lara and children Joshua and India.

Rafter, who has lived in Sydney since his retirement in 2003, said he "belongs" north of the border and will return to his house on the picturesque Sunshine Coast.

He was in Brisbane today for the announcement of additional land being granted for the $60 million State Tennis Centre, to be built at Tennyson, by Queensland Premier Peter Beattie.

New players like slower surfaces
By Peter Krupka
February 8, 2006

IF Lleyton Hewitt is frustrated by the lack of response to his pleas for faster courts at the Australian Open to suit home players, Davis Cup captain John Fitzgerald has some bad news for him.

 

Hewitt made a public stand against the slow pace of the surface at Melbourne Park, which he claimed was not suited to him and was more geared to European and South American clay courters.

He claimed Tennis Australia's intransigence over the issue was one of the reasons he would not be available for cup duties.

But Fitzgerald, speaking from Geneva, where the team is preparing for the Davis Cup first-round tie against Switzerland this weekend, said the indoor clay court chosen by the Swiss was a fair surface for his inexperienced team, which includes Peter Luczak and Chris Guccione.

"We have been a faster-court nation over the years, but times have changed a bit and a lot of players now play their tennis on slower courts, particularly on clay," Fitzgerald said.

"Peter Luczak is the prime example. He thinks clay is probably his favourite surface so I think we compare favourably to this Swiss team on this surface.

"It would take me a little bit of time to think what surface we would choose to play against these guys if it was our choice. The clay court surface doesn't worry us at all."

Australia is without the services of Hewitt for the tie, which starts on Friday. The Swiss team has suffered the ultimate blow, with the world's best player, Roger Federer, pulling out.

Arthurs has already alerted his teammates to be ready for the ringing of cow bells in the indoor stadium - a tradition of the Swiss crowds.

Fitzgerald conceded, even with the cow bells, the Swiss will be a far less intimidating prospect for his fledgling team than would be an away tie against Spain or a South American nation.

"For young players, who have not played live matches and are stepping into the fold, it's a good atmosphere to do it in," he said.

"There will certainly be pressure but it may not be as difficult as some other places."

The Australian team has been training intensely since arriving in Switzerland five days ago, and Fitzgerald said the mood in the camp lifted when it was reported that Federer would miss the tie, preferring to focus on preparing for the Masters Series.

"It changes the make-up of their team dramatically," Fitzgerald said.

"When you go into these matches you have to believe you can find a way to win but, realistically, when you are playing Roger Federer, it's a difficult ask.,P> "So for him to not be there they feel 'wow - they are going to have to play well to beat us now'.

"There is no question we believe we can win."

Australia's team will be announced tomorrow, with the Swiss campaign to be underpinned in Federer's absence by rising star Stanislas Wawrinka, currently ranked 49th in the world.

The Australian

Aussie confident for Davis Cup
February 7, 2006

THE absence of Swiss maestro Roger Federer has buoyed the hopes of Australia's fledgling Davis Cup team ahead of this weekend's tie in Geneva.

Cup captain John Fitzgerald said his inexperienced team - with Peter Luczak and Chris Guccione having played just one dead rubber each and Paul Hanley none - was increasingly confident of causing an upset.

And the only member of the Australia squad with any notable Cup experience - Wayne Arthurs - said the location of the first-round clash on foreign soil could help Australia.

"The different nerves you have going into the match, the expectation you have from an Australian crowd, the expectations of performing are immense," Arthurs said from Geneva of the difficulties of playing a live Davis Cup rubber for the first time.

"It's probably a little bit easier over here for these guys going into a match where you don't have 15,000 Aussies supporting you."

The expected capacity crowd of 6000 at the indoor SEG Geneva Arena, where a claycourt has been specially laid, are likely to conduct the typical Swiss practice of ringing cowbells.

But Fitzgerald said it should certainly be one of the tamer away venues.

"In terms of the players that haven't played live matches before and are stepping into the fold it's a good atmosphere to do it in," he said.

Don't write us off: Luczak
By Tim Morrissey
February 7, 2006

DAVIS Cup spearhead Peter Luczak has a defiant message for critics ready to write off Australia's hopes against Switzerland: we won't let anyone down.

The Lleyton Hewitt-lookalike will lead Australia's campaign against Switzerland starting on Friday in Geneva and has revealed the determination within the team to defy its lowly ranking and stun the home side and the critics.

Luczak is part of the most inexperienced team Australia has ever fielded, prompting Davis Cup great John Alexander to claim it represents a "black hole" in the national tennis landscape.

But Luczak believes Alexander's blunt assessment has done the team an enormous favour.

"You love it when people say that you've got no chance," Luczak said from Geneva.

"All you want to do is go out and win and compete as hard as you can.

"It's almost nice knowing that just about everyone feels we don't have a chance."

Australia needs Luczak to play like his absent idol Hewitt in the first-round tie.

With Hewitt recovering from a jarred left ankle and Mark Philippoussis still unfit, Australia must rely on its most inexperienced Davis Cup team to maintain an unbeaten record against the Swiss.

With Federer also likely out of the contest, the Australia team is quietly confidence of causing an upset on the indoor clay surface.

"With Federer now not playing (subject to confirmation) it does put a little bit more pressure on ourselves, but at least we know we've got a decent chance of winning," Luczak said.

"I'd say we're pretty much a 50-50 chance now.

"Obviously with our best player out and their best player out it's an even match."

The biggest threat to Australia is rising Swiss star Stanislas Wawrinka, currently ranked No.49 in the world.

Wawrinka was knocked out of the Australian Open in the second round in a tough four-setter against Argentina's world No.4 David Nalbandian.

"I've never played him before but the way Wawrinka played against Nalbandian does scare me a bit because he's a great player and he's got a great single-handed backhand and he's still young so he's on his way up," Luczak said.

However, the 26-year-old's form at the Australian Open suggests he can beat Wawrinka if Australia Davis Cup captain John Fitzgerald selects him to play singles.

Luczak played above his No.116 ranking to reach the third round in Melbourne last month, beating world No.24 Belgian Olivier Rochus along the way before going down to Germany's Tommy Haas.

"Anytime you can win a few matches in a Major it gives you a bit of confidence," Luczak said.

"I'm on a bit of a high right now and hopefully I can run with it.

"Right now I just can't wait to start playing Davis Cup."

Luczak admits he's found inspiration from Hewitt after spending 10 days with the two-time grand slam winner last year but impersonation is not intentional.

"The cap backwards, I've always done that since I was a little kid but Lleyton did inspire me when I've practised with him a few times," Luczak added.

"The way Lleyton motivates himself and pushes himself even at practice is inspiring.

"I've been modelling my practices on Lleyton's."

Without Hewitt the key to upstaging Switzerland is to put them under pressure on the first day.

"You'd like to be after the first day at least 1-1," Luczak said.

"If Chris Guccione or Wayne Arthurs or myself can pull off a good match against Wawrinko and get a two-match lead it would be unbelievable but we'd still be pretty happy with 1-1."

The Daily Telegraph