Davis Cup: Australia take 2-0
lead over India
World number one Lleyton Hewitt and Wayne Arthurs gave Australia a 2-0 lead over India in their Davis Cup World Group qualifier on Friday, but had to work harder than expected.
Australia now have an excellent chance of securing a place in next year's 16-nation World Group and relegating India to the second tier when Hewitt and Todd Woodbridge team up in Saturday's doubles match.
Hewitt and Woodbridge will play Indian veteran Leander Paes and newcomer Vishaal Uppal at Memorial Drive, the same court where Hewitt won his first professional title as a 16-year-old in 1998.
"This is where it all started for me," Hewitt said.
"Just coming to this facility and playing here is a huge buzz.
"The memories obviously come back of how much this place changed my career."
Hewitt eased past Harsh Mankad 6-1, 7-6, 6-1 in just 99 minutes in the first singles rubber. The strong-serving Arthurs then surprisingly dropped a set against Paes but never looked in serious trouble as he secured a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory.
"I felt the pressure being the favourite in that match," Arthurs said.
"Coming back to Australia and expecting to win, and everyone else expecting me to win, made it hard to relax."
CRUSHING WIN
Hewitt looked on course for a crushing win against the lowly-ranked Mankad as the Wimbledon champion raced through the first set in 26 minutes.
But Mankad improved in the second set, drawing the Australian into rallies. Hewitt also made an uncharacteristic 26 unforced errors, most of them in the second set.
Hewitt quickly snapped back into gear to win the second set tie-break 7-2 and then wrapped up the final set on his second match point in only 24 minutes.
Mankad, 22, improved his world ranking by 417 places to No. 831 last week but was only included in the Indian team after the country's top player, U.S. Open doubles champion Mahesh Bhupathi, pulled out with a shoulder injury.
Mankad, best known as the grandson of Vinoo Mankad, the cricketer who famously ran out Australian Bill Brown from the bowler's end in 1947, had played Hewitt once before as a junior in England five years ago, lost in straight sets.
He failed to win a set in their first encounter as seniors but said he was pleased just to play against Hewitt.
"To play the No.1 player in the world is tremendous," he said. "For me there's everything to take from this match."
Australia, without semi-retired Pat Rafter and injured Mark Philippoussis, gave Arthurs another singles chance after he lost the deciding rubber in Australia's Davis Cup final against France in December.
Arthurs, ranked 51st in the world, started strongly and finished in the same fashion despite dropping the second set against the experienced Paes, a bronze medallist at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
The lanky left-hander peeled off four aces in the final game of the fourth set to keep Australia on course for an easy win.
"I knew where I was going to serve every serve, and it just came off," Arthurs said. "It's a pretty nice way to finish a match actually."
Images of the match
