SCUD RACING FOR CUP FORM

By PATRICK MILES

13 February 01

The Australian

AUSTRALIA are hoping to assemble their strongest possible combination to
take on Brazil in Florianopolis, and that includes Mark Philippoussis, who has
not played Davis Cup for a year.

The Victorian missed the Australian summer season after undergoing
arthroscopic surgery on his left knee at the end of December, but he has
recovered well and is scheduled to return to ATP Tour action next week.

He is expected to play the Kroger St Jude tournament, which begins in
Memphis on Monday, then defend the title at the Sybase Open in San Jose the
following week.

But time is short before the Davis Cup quarter-finals on April 6-8, a week after
the Ericsson Open in Miami, and there is some doubt about whether
Philippoussis will be sufficiently match-hardened to deal with Gustavo Kuerten
on clay before a hostile crowd.

Australian captain John Fitzgerald and Pat Rafter, the most experienced
player, both want Philippoussis back in the fold.

"It would be a great added strength if he could play and he has made it
understood to 'Fitzy' that he will be playing, so we're looking forward to that,"
Rafter said.

The war of words that erupted between Rafter and Philippoussis last year,
when the latter made a late withdrawal from the Davis Cup semi-final against
Brazil in Brisbane, appears to have been resolved.

Such is Rafter's determination to be part of a Davis Cup-winning team in what
could be his final year on the circuit, he sees the need to have Philippoussis
on board again.

For his part, Philippoussis, who had disputes with former captain John
Newcombe, believes Fitzgerald, as "a younger man", will have greater
understanding, presumably of his schedule.

But with the expected mayhem in Florianopolis, Kuerten's home town, less
than two months away, Philippoussis will need to find his form quickly for
Fitzgerald to select him in singles before Rafter or Lleyton Hewitt.

Philippoussis is said to have made a full recovery from the knee operation and
has been fulfilling a rigorous daily schedule for the past four weeks with his
coach, Peter McNamara.

Fitzgerald and Australian coach Wally Masur have been in contact with
Philippoussis since they took over from Newcombe and Tony Roche on
January 1.

The United States were meanwhile sent tumbling out of the Davis Cup by
Switzerland in another upset following the first-round exit of defending
champions Spain.

Roger Federer was the executioner of the US challenge, defeating Jan Michael
Gambill to give his team an unbeatable 3-1 lead in their world group
first-round clash.

Federer defeated Gambill 7-5 6-2 4-6 6-2 in a gritty battle in Basel to clinch
victory for the underdogs.

The defeat of the US followed the demise of cup holders Spain at the hands of
the Netherlands.

The Dutch had guaranteed themselves victory on Saturday with a win in the
decisive doubles rubber.

They had at one point looked set to inflict a whitewash of the 2000 champions
on Sunday when Jan Siemerink defeated Juan Balcells 6-7 (9-11) 6-4 7-6
(7-3) to give the Netherlands a 4-0 lead.

Only Carlos Moya restored some pride to the Spanish ranks with a 6-4 7-6
(7-2) win over Raemon Sluiter in the dead fifth rubber at Eindhoven's Indoor
Sportcentrum.

Yevgeny Kafelnikov was in fine form for Russia, and his 4-6 4-6 6-3 6-2 6-2
victory over Karol Kucera earned them a 3-2 win over Slovakia in Bratislava.

Sweden defeated Czech Republic 3-2 in another match which went to the wire.

Thomas Johansson defeated Jiri Novak 7-6 (7-0) 6-3 6-7 (4-7) 6-2 in the fifth
and final rubber to advance.

Bohdan Ulihrach had earlier pulled the teams level at 2-2 with a 6-3 6-2 6-1
victory over Magnus Norman.

In other matches, France completed a 5-0 whitewash of Belgium while
Germany prevailed in their reverse singles matches to squeeze a 3-2 win over
Romania.

Brazil, already holding a 3-0 winning lead overnight, completed a 4-1 victory
against Morocco in Rio de Janeiro.