Australia led Argentina 1-0 when play was suspended because of bad weather after the opening day of their Davis quarter-final on Friday descended into a bitter war of words.
Lleyton Hewitt gave the Australians the perfect start when he won a feisty clash with Guillermo Coria 7-6, 6-1, 1-6, 6-2 but David Nalbandian was looking to square the tie with a 6-3, 7-6, 5-7 lead over Wayne Arthurs.
Their match was interrupted for more than a hour after the second set when it began to rain and although play later resumed under lights, the players called a halt after the third set because of the moisture on the temporary grass court at Sydney's Olympic tennis centre.
Relations between the teams were strained before the tie began following the clashes at this year's Australian Open and deteriorated further after Friday's opening singles matches.
Hewitt's match with Coria threatened to boil over after the pair traded insults and accused each other of bad sportsmanship.
TEMPESTUOUS BEHAVIOUR
Coria, who became increasingly frustrated by Hewitt's tempestuous behaviour, accused the Australian of swearing at him while Hewitt responded by calling the Argentinian a sore loser.
"I admire his game but I don't like the way he is," Coria told a news conference.
"He can be the best player in the world, he can win every tournament but he can not behave the way he does, abusing the captain, abusing the other players."
"Outside the game is one thing but inside the court I really feel like killing him."
Hewitt denied swearing at his opponent and accused the South Americans of unsportsmanlike behaviour.
"To be perfectly honest, I think he's arrogant and he lost the match today and he's looking for other excuses," Hewitt said.
"Not once did I have words with him and to tell you the truth I think he's a sore loser.
"He grabbed his private parts at one stage...he spat in the referee's direction and he wasn't happy with the court surface. He tried hip-and-shouldering me at the end of the first set and he complained the whole day so I'm not quite sure what his issue is."
COURT STANDARD
Coria complained about the state of the court, saying it was not up to standard, while Hewitt took a swipe at Nalbandian and the Argentine captain, Alberto Mancini.
"Their captain, who has been mouthing off all week about sportsmanship, was talking to the referee every second point on my service games," Hewitt said.
The outbursts overshadowed the match where Hewitt had needed all his combative skills to subdue Coria, recovering from a slow start then surviving a determined comeback.
Hewitt dropped his second service game, but recovered to win the first set tiebreak after Coria failed to serve out the set when he made three unforced errors and served a double fault.
Hewitt broke Coria twice in the second set to grab a two-set lead but the Argentine fought back to win the third.
The opening exchanges of the fourth set were dominated by the increasing bitterness between the players but it was the Australian who regained his composure first to seal victory.
Nalbandian looked to be in complete control of his match with Arthurs before the weather turned foul giving the Australian the break he needed to come back and win the third set.
