Let the Davis Cup War BegIN

Hewitt still bitter about Barcelona final
'No doubt Alex, Duarte were headlining the whole situation;' More Rusty: "No way the fanatics could behave that badly;' Can F-Lo pull an Escude?

By Matthew Cronin
tennisreporters.net

Susan Mullane/Camerawork USA

Leave it to the thin-skinned Lleyton "Rusty" Hewitt to tightly hold on to a grudge for three years and make the upcoming Australia-Spain Davis Cup final a tantalizing affair. He’s still pointing fingers at Spaniard Alex Corretja, who will likely play doubles with Feliciano Lopez on Saturday.

Here’s what Hewitt had to say to The Australian’s Leo Schlink about the Davis Cup final in Barcelona in 2000: "That was the worst crowd I've ever played in front of. There was very little respect for the whole game and the tradition of Davis Cup. I don't mind loud crowds and whatever. … They were just throwing stuff. It was disappointing, even after the match when I'd lost the fourth rubber and the tie. There's no worse feeling when you've lost and I was standing at the net for a couple of minutes waiting to shake hands with [Juan Carlos] Ferrero, but it wasn't Juan Carlos' fault because there were about 15 guys lying on top of him."

Schlink asked Hewitt if then captain Javier Duarte and Corretja were the two principal offenders in Spain. "Pretty much," Hewitt said. "You'd throw (Albert) Costa in there behind them. There's no doubt Alex and Duarte were headlining the whole situation." Corretja wouldn’t take the bait, because he knows to do so would risk his team being abused by fans all weekend.

"We been talking together and we solved our problems," he said. "I apologized to him and to Pat [Rafter] already a few times and I think everything is done and now our relationship is just polite and everything. So, I didn't see any problems or any more troubles, I just come here to play tennis to help my team to win, and I don't want to enter into any fights because I think it doesn't make any sense for me. … It's normal because we are playing again in another final; Spain verses Australia, or Australia verses Spain and in that case, in Barcelona, we had this problem so that is why probably he came up with the same problem again, but as I said, I don't want to enter into any troubles beside the tennis court. … I think I have a really good relationship with some of the guys in the Aussie team, and that is enough for me."

Susan Mullane/Camerawork USA

Recall that Corretja and Aussie doubles specialist Todd Woodbridge have been working together for a number of years on the ATP Player’s Council and get along swimmingly. Also recall that Hewitt could give a rip for what Woodbridge says about keeping the peace or any other issue for that matter.

Hewitt says that the home crowd will be better behaved than the Spaniards were. "There is no way the fanatics could behave that badly."

Can F-Lo pull an Escude?
Given how badly Juan Carlos Ferrero played in Houston, Spanish captain Jordi Arrese will be tempted to replace him with serve-and-volleyer Feliciano Lopez and hope that F-Lo pulls a Nicolas Escude.

Only the Spaniards know where Ferrero’s confidence is at the moment, but it would be a very risky maneuver, because Lopez is a highly unproven player and even though the two nations are contesting the tie on grass and Juan Carlos is hurting physically, Ferrero did take out Hewitt at the US Open and is a more accomplished big-match player. A day-three substitution would make more sense unless Ferrero is much less than 100 percent physically prepared to play.

Hewitt hasn’t played since the Aussies took down the Swiss in September and says he’s as fit as Rafter was during his US Open salad days. But his lack of match play must concern Aussie captain John Fitzgerald, even though he isn’t saying so.

"I have just been resting and I have been training extremely hard though, putting in a lot of hours both on the court and in the gym and done a lot of miles running and fitness work. I feel like I have prepared as well as possible," Hewitt said. "Hopefully I haven't left any stones unturned."

If Arrese does substitute Lopez, then Carlos Moya will face Hewitt and Lopez would play Mark Philippoussis.

Moya has a 5-3 head to head record against Hewitt, but they have never met on grass, where Moya has a very difficult time imposing his groundstrokes.

Flip and Lopez have only met twice – on hard courts – and have split both contests, with Lopez taking their last match at the Tennis Masters Series Madrid. If this contest occurs, it will be a service-bomb fest that will be won by the man who returns better and is the more sure-handed volleyer.

AUSSIES HAVE EDGE IN DOUBLES
The doubles will likely match Woodbridge/Wayne Arthurs against Lopez/Corretja, who’s been having neck problems. You have to give the Aussies the edge in this contest.

This is Australia’s fourth final in the last five years and they have won only on of those ties – in 1999, when Philippoussis led them to a victory over France in Nice. Hewitt lost both his singles matches there. In 2000, Hewitt lost the decider to Ferrero. In 2001 when the Aussies faced France Down Under on grass, Hewitt fell to Nicolas Escude on day one, lost the doubles with Rafter to Cedric Pioline/Fabrice Santoro on day two, beat Sebastian Grosjean on day three and then watched Arthurs go down to Escude.

This year, Hewitt was been a man on a mission and looked every part of a Slam winner when he upended Roger Federer in September. Woodbridge, who has been a member of countless Cup team, likes the make up of this squad.

"This year, in particular, we have gone about being a very good team in the sense that we have had to carry the load, everyone has done their bit," he said. "It hasn't relied solely on one player. The doubles has been important, particularly in that last tie to keep Roger [Federer] out on the court. You have got a big gun with Flip who is so dangerous the way he plays and guys are scared of him. You have got Lleyton who guys are scared of because they know they have got to stay there four hours to beat him. You've got Wayne and I who this year have been two of the best doubles players in the world. So, the whole core of the team blends very well, it's a good match up, we cover each other's weaknesses well."