Vliegen beats Guccione to seal Belgian victory

LIEGE, Belgium, Feb 11 AAP - Kristof Vliegen beat Australia's Chris Guccione to hand Belgium a 3-2 victory in their Davis Cup tie today.

Vliegen beat Guccione 6-4 6-4 6-4 on clay at Liege's Country Hall to set up a quarterfinal meeting with Germany, while Australia will go into the World Group playoffs.

Earlier, Lleyton Hewitt ground out a 6-2 6-3 6-7 (4-7) 3-6 6-1 win over Olivier Rochus, levelling the World Group first-round tie at 2-2.

Australia recovered from a terrible start after losing their opening two singles rubbers.

Hewitt and Paul Hanley beat Vliegen and Rochus in straight sets in the doubles to keep Australia in the tie and Hewitt's victory in the reverse singles ensured the contest went down to the last rubber.

But Vliegen, the world No.41 who had upset Hewitt in the opening rubber, proved too strong for Guccione, who is ranked No.109.

Vliegen comfortably took the first set and then broke Guccione in the seventh game of the second before holding serve with an ace for a 5-3 lead.

The Belgian served out the 10th game to love to go two sets up.

Guccione saved four break points in the fifth game of the third set but double faulted on the vital point in the seventh game to give his opponent the break.

The Belgian claimed victory after two hours four minutes when Guccione sent a passing shot wide.

World No.18 Hewitt had a tough time against No.34 Rochus, who fought back in the third set when he broke the Australian in the fifth game for a 3-2 lead.

A stroke of luck for the Australian when he hit the ball onto the net cord and it just popped over gave him two break points in the following game.

He converted the second when Rochus hit the ball long.

The pair continued to trade breaks until Hewitt held with two aces in a row for a 6-5 lead, putting pressure on Rochus to hold serve and force the tiebreaker if he was to stay in the match.

The Belgian did, winning the set with a sharp cross-court forehand.

Hewitt struggled through the fourth set - he committed a double fault that gave Rochus a 5-3 lead, then allowed the Belgian to convert the first of three set points when he sent a backhand wide.

Going to a fifth set suited Hewitt's never-say-die style, however.

The Australian made a crucial break in the second game and another in the sixth before winning his service game to love with a forehand that closed the match in four hours, seven minutes.

 

Hewitt levels tie

LIEGE, Belgium, Feb 11 AAP - Australia's Lleyton Hewitt beat Olivier Rochus of Belgium to level their Davis Cup tie at 2-2 today.

Hewitt's fighting 6-2 6-3 6-7 (4-7) 3-6 6-1 win on clay at Liege's Country Hall meant it was up to Chris Guccione to secure victory for Australia in the World Group first round when he faced Kristof Vliegen in the final reverse singles rubber.

Hewitt made his intentions clear from the start, breaking Rochus in the first game of the match and again in the fifth before claiming the opening set with an ace.

Rochus broke Hewitt in the second game of the second set to take a 2-0 lead when the Australian sent a backhand narrowly wide.

But Hewitt responded by converting his second break point with a cross-court winner in the very next game and then holding serve to love to draw level at 2-2.

Hewitt saved two break points in a long sixth game, which he finally won with an ace.

When Rochus sent a shot wide to hand Hewitt a break in the following game, the Australian was clearly pumped.

He won the next game to love and then broke the Belgian with a cross-court forehand to take a two-set lead.

Rochus fought back in the third set when he broke Hewitt in the fifth game for a 3-2 lead, but a stroke of luck for the Australian when he hit the ball onto the net cord and it just popped over gave him two break points in the following game.

He converted the second when Rochus hit the ball long.

Remarkably the pair then continued to trade breaks until Hewitt held with two aces in a row for a 6-5 lead, putting pressure on Rochus to hold serve and force the tiebreaker to keep himself in the match.

The Belgian did just that, winning the set with a sharp cross-court forehand.

Hewitt struggled through the fourth set - he committed a double fault that gave Rochus a 5-3 lead, then allowed the Belgian to convert the first of three set points when he sent a backhand wide.

Going to a fifth set suited Hewitt's never-say-die style, however, and the Australian made a crucial break in the second game.

He followed up with another break in the sixth before winning his service game to love with a forehand winner to close the match in four hours, seven minutes.
 

Hanley and Hewitt keep tie alive Feb 10

Lleyton Hewitt and Paul Hanley found their doubles touch and kept Australia's Davis Cup hopes alive with a convincing win over Belgians Kristof Vliegen and Olivier Rochus overnight.

After Australia lost both opening singles rubbers on the clay of Liege's Country Hall, their 6-2 6-4 6-2 victory over the Belgian pair closed the gap to 2-1 and kept the visitors in the World Group first-round tie.

After naming Dick Norman and Christophe Rochus for the doubles, Belgian captain Julien Hoferlin completely switched his combination hoping for a quick end to the tie.

Instead he opted for Vliegen, who upset Hewitt in five sets in the opening singles rubber and his top-ranked team member, Olivier Rochus, who had beaten Chris Guccione in four sets.

Hewitt and Hanley had played together just once before, losing their only match at the Adelaide International in January.

Vliegen and Rochus looked dangerous when they won the opening game to love, while Australia's first service game went to deuce twice.

But from then on, Hewitt and Hanley were in complete control, breaking their opponents in the fifth and seventh games for a 5-2 lead before closing out the set.

Australia then broke Belgium in the first game of the second set, prompting Hewitt to unleash an unfamiliar catch cry - his pumping fist accompanied not by his usual "C'mon!" but a forceful "Baby!"

Australia held serve to love in the following game and then broke the Belgians again.

Vliegen and Rochus broke back immediately and saved two break points in the seventh game but the damage was done.

The Australians saved a break point when Hanley was serving for the set, which he sealed with a sharp backhand volley that Vliegen failed to answer.

Hewitt and Hanley looked unstoppable when they secured two breaks of serve in the third and fifth games of what turned out to be the decider.

Rochus handed the Australians two match points when he sent a backhand wide and Hewitt claimed victory with an ace.

Australia will turn their attention to the reverse singles, where Hewitt is drawn to play Olivier Rochus and Guccione is due to face Vliegen.

Davis Cup: Belgium dominates Australia

Feb 9

Liege, Belgium (dpa) - Belgium's Kristof Vliegen and Olivier Rochus combined to put Australia in deep trouble, trailing 2-0 in their Davis Cup World Group first round on Friday, while perennial favourites France, Argentina and Russia also took commanding leads.

The Belgian hosts took full advantage of an indoor clay court, grabbing a 1-0 lead as Vliegen put on a comeback performance to defeat Lleyton Hewitt 4-6, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Rochus then cut gangling Chris Guccione down 3-6, 7-5, 6-2, 6-3 to leave the visitors, 28-time champions, sputtering and in danger of their second loss in the first round in the last four years.

Guccione's 26 aces overwhelmed the three of Rochus, but the agile 165-centimetre Belgian left the Aussie flat-footed with precise passing shots to thrill a home audience with the unexpected success.

The Belgians take their margin into Saturday's doubles.

"You're always in trouble down 0-2 down, it's a number game" said Aussie captain John Fitzgerald. "We have to win the last three. It's not easy but it's possible."

It was Hewitt's second straight loss in five sets in Davis Cup after going down to Argentine Jose Acasuso last September in Buenos Aires.

Vliegen couldn't hide his joy at beating the former world number 1 in the pair's first meeting. "I was mixing my game well," said the world number 41.

"Hewitt could never know what I was going to do next. He plays the same steady game," Vliegen said. "If you do what he likes you will lose for sure. I mixed it up and that helped me to win."

Hewitt was unable the convert on the majority of his 18 break points, successful on only five.

The nations are playing for only the third time in more than 80 years, with Australia sweeping the Belgians in Perth in 1991, 5-0.

The Swiss-Spanish tie in Geneva was rocked before play began as Stanislas Wawrinka and Rafael Nadal were both injured in training.

Wawrinka hurt a knee and is to undergo surgery which will keep him off court for three months. Nadal, bothered by a muscle problem at the Australian Open, withdrew before his opening rubber against Marco Chiudinelli.

Chiudinelli, Roger Federer's best mate and ranked 137, then sprang a surprise as he beat Fernando Verdasco 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 7- (7-2). David Ferrer levelled through a win over debutant Stephane Bohli 6-3, 6-2, 6-2.

Germany's Tommy Haas recovered against Croatian Mario Ancic, producing a 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 to hand the hosts the lead. Benjamin Becker went down to Ivan Ljubicic in the second rubber 6-7 (4-7), 6-4, 6-2, 6-3.

France stormed into the early lead over Romania as Richard Gasquet hammered Victor Hanescu 7-5, 6-2, 6-2. It was another straight-set story for visiting Sweden after Robin Soderling beat Victor Voltchkov of Belarus 6-3, 7-6 (7-3), 6-1.

Both nations now hold 2-0 advantage after opening day.

Last December's losing finalist Argentina got off to a lead over Austria in Linz, Jose Acasuso overcoming Stefan Koubek 7-6 (8-6), 6-1, 6-4.

Guillermo Canas came back from a drugs ban with a defeat of Jurgen Melzer 7-6 (8-6), 6-2, 6-4 for a 2-0 margin.

Andy Roddick had to work to overcome stubborn Czech resistance from Ivo Minar, with the American finally prevailing 6-4, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 as his team - the only side in the first round with a pair of Top ten players in the lineup - aimed to make it 2-0 on opening day through James Blake.

But Blake was no match for Tomas Berdych, losing 6-1, 2-6, 7-5, 7- 5.

Marat Safin is leading the charge in Chile for 2006 champion Russia as the injury-hit holders soldier through. Safin, minus backup from Nikolay Davydenko, Dmitry Tursunov and Mikhail Youzhny, took an opening victory over Nicolas Massu 6-3, 6-2, 6-2.

But Igor Andreev came good over Australian Open finalist Fernando Gonzalez 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 to give Russia a 2-0 lead