Spaniards Hold Not-So-Secret Weapon in Grasscourt Davis Cup Final

Posted on November 26, 2003

While no one questions the favorite status of the Australians in this weekend's Davis Cup final, the Spaniards have a not-so-secret weapon they could insert into the singles line-up -- left-handed serve-and-volleyer Feliciano Lopez, who reached the fourth round this year at Wimbledon, but has never played a Davis Cup match.

There aren't normally many opportunities for up-and-coming Spaniards to crack the Spanish Davis Cup line-up containing former No. 1s Juan Carlos Ferrero, Carlos Moya, and former No. 2-ranked Alex Corretja. But this week is a different story, as the Spaniards don't find themselves playing on grass too often. Ferrero is the clear Spanish No. 1, while Lopez, if he saw action, would be substituted for Moya.

With the Lopez option being bandied about, Hewitt, perhaps in an effort to get Moya on the court, has been talking up the Spaniard.

"Carlos has got the type of game that could be quite dangerous on grass," said Hewitt, who trails Moya 3-5 in their head-to-head matches. "He just hasn't taken up the opportunity to play a lot of matches. He could be the most dangerous out of their whole side with the big serve and he actually has an idea around the net."

Lopez beat Philippoussis on hardcourt last month at the TMS-Madrid. Hewitt said he will be driven by bad memories of the 2000 final in Spain, when Corretja incited the crowd and later went head-hunting against him.

"That was the worst crowd I've ever played in front of," Hewitt said. "There's no doubt Alex and (Davis Cup captain Javier) Duarte were headlining the whole situation and built it up that way." Later at the World Team Cup in Dusseldorf, Corretja went on the offensive in a match against Hewitt. "Corretja got a short ball and basically just took my head off...Pat (Rafter) just confronted him and said, `Mate, Lleyton's done nothing wrong here. You're the guy who's been at his face the whole day and you could have gone anywhere with that ball.' It was pretty heated and I tried to stay out of it as much as possible. It's all in the memory bank though."

Yesterday both teams got to hit on the actual court that will be used this weekend at Rod Laver Arena and found it a bit slow. Aussie captain John Fitzgerald says it will be up to snuff by the weekend.

"You can't have it exactly as you want it on match day all week," Fitzgerald said. The Aussie team practiced with the roof closed Monday due to rain. "It's a bit like the Twilight Zone with the roof closed," he said. "In an ideal world you'd practice all week and play all the tie outside, grass is an outdoor surface."

DAVIS CUP SINGLES POTENTIAL HEAD-TO-HEADS

Lleyton Hewitt (AUS) vs. Juan Carlos Ferrero (ESP) tied 3-3
2003 US Open, Hard, Ferrero
2002 Tennis Masters Cup, Hard, Hewitt
2001 Tennis Masters Cup, Hard, Hewitt
2001 Roland Garros, Clay, Ferrero
2000 AUS V ESP, Clay, Ferrero
2000 Scottsdale, Hard, Hewitt

Carlos Moya (ESP) leads Hewitt (AUS) 5-3
2003 World Team Championship, Clay, Hewitt
2002 Tennis Masters Cup, Hard, Moya
2002 Cincinnati TMS, Hard, Moya
2002 Rome TMS, Clay, Moya
2002 Monte Carlo TMS, Clay, Moya
2002 Indian Wells TMS, Hard, Hewitt
2001 Australian Open, Hard, Moya
2000 Indian Wells, Hard, Hewitt

Hewitt (AUS) vs. Feliciano Lopez (ESP)
No meetings.

Ferrero (ESP) leads Mark Philippoussis (AUS) 2-0
2003 Rome TMS, Clay, Ferrero
2000 Roland Garros, Clay, Ferrero

Philippoussis (AUS) leads Moya (AUS) 3-2
2003 Roland Garros, Clay, Moya
2002 Roland Garros, Clay, Moya
1999 Indian Wells, Hard, Philippoussis
1998 US Open, Hard, Philippoussis
1997 Indian Wells, Hard, Philippoussis

Philippoussis (AUS) vs. Lopez (ESP) tied 1-1
2003 Madrid TMS, Hard, Lopez
2003 Miami TMS, Hard, Philippoussis

DAVIS CUP RECORDS IN FINALS
Spain has appeared in only one final since the inception of the Davis Cup World Group in 1981, while Australia has appeared in seven finals. Sweden has appeared in the most finals of any country in that period with 10:

Spain 1-0 win-loss in finals (d. Australia in 2000)
Australia 3-4 in finals (won in 1999,'86,'83, lost in 2001-00,'93'90)

NOTES, QUOTES, AND BARBS
Andy Roddick teamed with Chris Evert in doubles in his tennis exhibition Sunday in Boca Raton, Florida, that included Brad Gilbert, Patrick McEnroe, Aaron Krickstein, Brenda Schultz McCarthy, Brian Vahaly, and Jim Courier in the umpire's chair. Proceeds from the weekend go to the Andy Roddick Foundation, which benefits children's charities. "It's definitely been a whirlwind since the Open," Roddick said. "Everything has remained semi-sane, just on a much bigger scale. I used to be known kind of at tennis tournaments. Now it's pretty much when I go somewhere it's, 'Hey, how you doin'? Good job.' That's very cool."...Lleyton Hewitt says people need to lay off his coach Roger Rasheed: "I just wish people would actually see or know before they start bagging him, just how much work he does put in," Hewitt told the Herald-Sun. "He puts in an incredible amount. He got bagged at Wimbledon for supposedly not knowing enough about my opponent ("Dr." Ivo Karlovic). That's just rubbish because I've never had a coach who's scouted more and tried to find out as much as possible about that guy. It wasn't as if I wasn't prepared. He (Karlovic) had a freak day. I couldn't be happier with Roger."...Lleyton Hewitt says after some early "sledging" between him and Yevgeny Kafelnikov, they have mended fences: "Actually, Yevgeny and I get along pretty well now. You've gotta take Yevgeny with a grain of salt sometimes. He's a funny guy off the court." Funny like a clown funny?...So they don't look totally inept, the British LTA say they hired John McEnroe to work with their junior players only: "We have an ongoing relationship at the moment and we are working to find areas or times when we can work together," said an LTA official. "John is not going to be working with Tim Henman and Greg Rusedski, but he is going to be involved with some of the country's most promising junior players."...Juan Carlos Ferrero says the Australian team needs to look inward and identify with their anger: "More than being angry with us, I think they are angry with themselves for losing two finals on the trot," he told the Spanish sports daily Marca. "Everything that has happened in the past is bound to make the atmosphere more tense and emotional than usual. Everything will depend on what happens on the first day. If we can win one of the singles, then they might start getting nervous in the doubles."...The current Davis Cup grasscourt in Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne is at 8mm, but will be cut to 4mm right before the weekend when the matches begin...Carlos Moya's last win on grass came 2-1/2 years ago in the first round at Wimbledon against 201st-ranked South African Neville Godwin.