THE solution to Australia's vexing doubles dilemma could rest with Mark Philippoussis.
Once the staple of Australian success, the pivotal doubles rubber has become a perplexing liability for the national team with defeat in five of the past eight ties.
Wayne Arthurs and world No.1 Todd Woodbridge's stunning 2-6 6-2 6-1 6-7 (1-7) 10-12 loss in 4hrs 3mins to Nicolas and Giovanni Lapentti at Royal King's Park on Saturday again brought the issue into sharp focus.
Australian captain John Fitzgerald said post-match he had the utmost confidence in the virtual scratch pair, who held three match points at 5-3 (40-0) in the fourth set - only to be upstaged by the Ecuadorian brothers.
But the retirement of Mark Woodforde and sporadic use of Woodbridge in the past two years has left a gaping hole in the Australian lineup.
Since Woodbridge and Woodforde overwhelmed Zimbabweans Byron and Wayne Black in Harare in April 1999, various Australian combinations have lost to the United States, Russia, Switzerland, Spain and now Ecuador.
Sandon Stolle has been trialled and discarded and Arthurs and Woodbridge failed to bury the South Americans on grass at home on Saturday.
Yet there is no shortage of options.
Woodbridge, 30, has won multiple doubles majors, including last month's Australian Open crown, while Pat Rafter and Lleyton Hewitt have each won a Grand Slam in doubles.
Philippoussis and Rafter were once doubles partners and could easily reform to become a devastating cup force, even though Philippoussis is yet to represent his country in doubles.
Similarly, either Hewitt or Rafter could be paired with Woodbridge as an imposing combination.
Changes to Davis Cup regulations virtually oblige captains to select three singles players and a doubles player which, in Australia's case, would mean Hewitt, Rafter, Philippoussis and Woodbridge.
Tennis Australia has pushed for teams to be expanded to five, to accommodate a specialist doubles team, but has had no joy. Fitzgerald and coach Wally Masur will be intent on settling a doubles combination ahead of the quarter-final confrontation with Brazil on clay in Gustavo Kuerten's base of Florianopolis.
Stolle and Woodforde were pushed to five sets by Kuerten and Jaime Oncins on grass in Brisbane last year.
The hero of the 1999 final triumph over France in Nice, Philippoussis is set to resume in Memphis next week after recuperating from an arthroscope on his left knee.