Philippoussis has foretaste of Davis Cup final
By Francois Thomazeau

PARIS, Nov 1 (Reuters) - Australia's Mark Philippoussis
overpowered in-form Frenchman Nicolas Escude 6-4 7-6 at the
$2.55-million Paris Open on Monday and gained a foretaste of
next month's Davis Cup final in Nice.

"That's exactly what I was thinking out there. Every day is
different, every match is different. But this gives me a little
bit of confidence," the towering Philippoussis said after his
win over a potential Davis Cup final singles opponent.
"It gave me a bit of a smell of what it's going be like
there. It'll be louder for sure but that's it."

The support of the crowd did little to help Escude, winner
of the Toulouse Open this year, as he struggled to return the
powerful service of his opponent, ranked 22nd in the world.
"Maybe I should have taken more risks on his second serve,"
Escude said.

"But this has nothing to do with the Davis Cup. It'll be on
a different surface, in a different context. But for sure I
would have liked to show (French captain) Guy Forget something
better."

Escude, who comes from the rugby city of Pau, could not
avoid questions about Saturday's rugby union World Cup final
between France and Australia.

"It was fantastic," he said of France's 43-31 semifinal
victory over New Zealand.

"Now the ideal would be for them to win the final and for us
to crown a fantastic year by winning the Davis Cup against the
same Australians."

Even though his height and speed would have made him an
excellent lock, Philippoussis admitted his knowledge of rugby
union was limited.

"Obviously I would like Australia to win. But I must admit I
have no idea about the rules," he said.

The passion for the rugby World Cup final in Cardiff is such
in Paris that organisers were considering staging this
tournament's semifinals later in the day to allow spectators to
watch the match, possibly on a screen in the Bercy arena.
Serious action will start on Tuesday at the Paris Open as
all the seeds have a first-round bye.

PARIS, Nov 1 - Mark Philippoussis, a player whose form and ranking could use a boost prior to Australia's December Davis Cup date against France, took the first step with a 6-4 7-6 (7-4) victory over home player Nicolas Escude in the Paris Open ATP tournament today.

For the past three weeks since returning in Singapore from July knee surgery, the 22nd-ranked Aussie has won a round per week before falling to defeat.

His form will need to undergo a massive revitalisation if he is to be of use to Australia in the Davis final with No.1 Patrick Rafter recovering from shoulder surgery and out until the new year.

On a day featuring only unseeded competitors - all 16 seeds have byes - French Open finalist Andrei Medvedev of the Ukraine ousted France's Guillaume Raoux 6-3 6-4.

Fabrice Santoro squared the ledger for the hosts with his win against German Rainer Schuttler 6-2 6-3.

Michael Chang showed the fighting spirit that has characterised his career as the highest-profile qualifier at the $US2.55 million ($A3.9 million) event rallied to knock Swede Thomas Johansson out of the first round 6-7 (7-9) 7-5 6-4.

Chang, who stood No.2 in the world for years in the wake of Pete Sampras - now down a tad to No.3 himself - currently has a tenuous hold on a number 72 ranking.

As such, he had to play qualifying rounds at the weekend to even earn a main draw spot at the last Mercedes Super 9 of the season.

He next faces ninth seed Marcelo Rios of Chile.