Round 2  Townsville April 11-13

Australia 5 Thailand 0

News articles

Bernard Tomic	Australian Team	Darren Cahill and Brydan Klein	Klein and Chris Gucchione	Fitzy, Hewitt and Luczak
	Australian Team	Luczak and Fitzy	Thai Team	Klein and Hanley

Articles

Peter Luczak and Chris Guccione won their singles matches Sunday to complete a 5-0 Australia victory over Thailand in Asian regional Davis Cup play.

With Australia having clinched the Asia/Oceania Group One match 3-0 on Saturday, Luczak replaced Lleyton Hewitt in the opening reverse singles Sunday and beat Thailand's Danai Udomchoke 6-4, 5-7, 6-4.

Guccione, who beat Danai in five sets on Friday in the opening match on an indoor hardcourt at the Townsville Entertainment Center, defeated Weerapat Doakmaiklee 6-2, 7-6 (1).

Australia advances to September's playoffs against one of the eight first-round losers in this year's World Group. A win in that tie would promote 23-time Davis Cup champion Australia back into the 16-team World Group for 2009.

 

Australia takes unassailable 3-0 lead

 

A straight-sets victory in today's doubles rubber has given Australia an unbeatable lead over Thailand in the Davis Cup tie in Townsville. Lleyton Hewitt and Paul Hanley outclassed Weerapat Doakmaiklee and Kirati Siributwong 6-3 6-1 6-0 to put Australia 3-0 up in the Asia–Oceania group second-round tie. Australia can now look forward to a play-off in September for the right to re-enter the competition's elite 16-nation World Group in 2009. The draw for the play-offs will be conducted early next week and the most desirable result for Australia would be a home tie against either Peru, the Netherlands, Israel, Brazil, Chile or Colombia. The worst-case scenario would be a home fixture against Roger Federer's Switzerland, although an away tie against India or Andy Murray's Great Britain aren't exactly appealing either. It could have been far worse, though. Currently ranked 10th in the world, Australia are guaranteed a seeding – possibly No.1 – for the play-offs, meaning John Fitzgerald's team will at least be spared another showdown with Serbia. It was the Novak Djokovic-inspired Serbs who sent 28-times champions Australia packing from the World Group for only the second time with a 4-1 humbling in Belgrade last September. Australia entered day two against Thailand with a 2-0 advantage following singles wins on Friday for Hewitt over Siributwong, and Chris Guccione over Danai Udomchoke, and were keen to make swift work of the doubles. And they were never troubled, dropping just four games, with Hewitt saying it was a relief to be a step closer to a return to the World Group. "These are never easy matches. Obviously we were the favourites coming into the tie but you still have to go out there and get the job done," Hewitt said. "And now it's a matter of winning the World Group play-off in September."

 

Lleyton closing on record

Leo Schlink

April 12, 2008 12:00am

LLEYTON Hewitt is on the threshold of claiming one of the oldest records in Australian sport.

The former world champion's 6-0 6-0 6-1 whipping of overwhelmed Thai Kirati Siributwong yesterday in Townsville was his 37th success in Davis Cup.

Already the holder of the most singles victories by an Australian in Davis Cup -- 32 -- Hewitt is now bearing down on a record which has stood for 60 years.

Fellow South Australian Adrian Quist has held the Australian Davis Cup record for the most overall wins, singles and doubles combined since 1948, when his celebrated career finally came to an end.

Quist posted 43 wins from 56 matches from 1933. He missed six years during that period because of World War II, eventually retiring with a singles haul of 24-10 and an outstanding 19-3 record in doubles.

Hewitt, who yesterday romped to the most lopsided victory of his representative career, has 32 singles victories from 40 matches and five doubles scalps from eight contests.

The baseliner, 27, could potentially break the record next year when Australia hopes to be reinstated into the World Group, with the potential to compete in up to four Davis Cup ties.

Hewitt could be used in doubles with Paul Hanley today as Australia attempts to close out the tie 3-0 and advance to September's World Group playoffs.

Hewitt spent just 64 minutes on court, adding debutant Siributwong's scalp to a Davis Cup hit list which includes Swiss Roger Federer, Brazilian Gustavo Kuerten, Russian Marat Safin and Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero.

"Gooch had been out there far too long," Hewitt joked.

"It's always hard, no matter who you play in Davis Cup."

Hewitt indicated he wanted to play doubles.

"My body is holding up well enough to play singles, so it should be right for doubles," he said.

Hewitt and Guccione take the lead

April 11

Chris Guccione struck the first blow before Lleyton Hewitt knocked Thailand down for the count in Australia's Davis Cup clash in Townsville Friday.

Starkly contrasting victories for Guccione and Hewitt left Australia poised to advance to another playoff in September for re-entry next year to the competition's elite 16-nation World Group.

A merciless Hewitt displayed no signs whatsoever of the hip injury that had him doubtful for the tie as he crushed Cup novice Kirati Siributwong 6-0 6-0 6-1 in barely an hour.

Guccione, though, was the real hero for Australia, staving off three successive match points before squeezing out an epic 6-7 (3-7) 7-6 (8-6) 4-6 7-6 (8-6) 7-5 win over Thai No.1 Danai Udomchoke in the opening singles rubber.

Hewitt - or possibly Guccione if skipper John Fitzgerald opts to rest his spearhead - and Paul Hanley now have the opportunity to clinch the best-of-five-match Asia-Oceania second-round tie in Saturday's doubles against Weerapat Doakmaiklee and untried teenager Perakiat Siriluethaiwattana.

Guccione looked gone when he trailed 6-3 in a tense fourth-set tiebreaker, but conjured a spectacular comeback to notch one of his most satisfying wins.

On one match point particularly, Guccione produced a miraculous crosscourt forehand pass from metres behind the baseline to stay in the contest, leaving even the disbelieving Udomchoke applauding.

"It was a huge point," Guccione said. "He had a relatively easy forehand and I guessed right to jag it crosscourt for a winner.

"I was feeling great after that, (after) saving three match points in Davis Cup."

Guccione, who nailed 25 aces in a serving display which Udomchoke described as "unbelievable" at times, rated his amazing win "up there" with the very best of his career.

"I've had two wins in five sets in Davis Cup now. It's a great feeling, especially being so close to defeat there in the fourth set," he said.

A delighted Hewitt predicted Guccione's gutsy effort would do wonders for the 22-year-old's development.

"That's perfect for him," Hewitt said. "He didn't play his best tennis at times today, but he served well the whole time.

"To serve like that for five sets isn't easy. It doesn't matter how good your serve is.

"And he made the guy play even on those match points. 'Gooch' a couple of years ago probably would have given a cheap point away.

"So that was ideal for him and that's going to give him a lot of confidence.

"The exposure to pressure situations like that can only help him for the future."

While Guccione had to fight tooth and nail for his victory, Hewitt was in no mood for a similar battle, conceding a meagre 21 points against Siributwong, a rookie ranked 978th in the world and playing his first match at the elite level.

"He was obviously going to be nervous and it was a matter of me trying to stamp my authority on the match early and I was able to do that," Hewitt said.

Fitzgerald and Cup coach Darren Cahill were to decide Friday night whether Hewitt would contest the doubles, but the former world No.1 said he should be fine to back up.

"Obviously my body's holding up well enough to play singles so I should be right for doubles," Hewitt said.

"I didn't get stretched too much, which was good."

Chris Guccione has staged a brilliant comeback win to give the Optus Australian Davis Cup team the early advantage against Thailand in their Asia-Oceania Group One second round Davis Cup by BNP Paribas tie in Townsville.

Guccione, the world No.67, fought off three successive match points in a tense fourth-set tiebreaker before finally outlasting the 204th-ranked Danai Udomchoke 6-7(3) 7-6(6) 4-6 7-6(6) 7-5 in a match lasting more than three-and-a-half hours.

Lleyton Hewitt will endeavour to give Australia a commanding 2-0 first-day lead in the tie when he plays Kirati Siributwong, a Davis Cup novice ranked 978th in the world, in the second singles match.

Udomchoke beat Guccione in China earlier this year, but the Australian serving ace entered today's match full of confidence having since risen to a career-high world No.67.

And while Guccione has been steadily climbing the ranks with useful wins on US hard courts, Udomchoke spent half of last month meditating at a Buddhist monastery and conceded his preparation for this tie had been less than ideal.

Yet the Thai still managed to go tantalisingly close to pulling off a boilover.

He reeled off a succession of blistering backhand passes to snatch the first-set tiebreaker and then grabbed an early service break in the second set as Guccione lumbered.

But Udomchoke cracked when serving for a two-set advantage at 5-2 and then wasted three set points at 6-3 in the second tiebreaker to invite Guccione back into the contest.

Games went with serve in the third set until Udomchoke upped the ante with another series of backhand baseline winners to break Guccione for a 5-4 lead and then comfortably close out the set.

Guccione looked gone when he fell behind 6-3 in the fourth-set breaker but he had even his disbelieving opponent applauding one miraculous match point save with a desperate forehand crosscourt pass from metres behind the baseline.

It was an adrenalin shot the eternally casual Guccione needed and, after forcing a deciding set, the big left-hander broke Udomchoke in the 11th game and then thundered down another winning serve to put Australia in the box seat.