MELBOURNE, 17 September 2003 — Mark Philippoussis is looking forward to facing the man who beat him to the Wimbledon title, Roger Federer, when Australia play Switzerland in their Davis Cup semifinal, which starts on Friday.
“Obviously it’s going to be huge,” the big-serving Australian told a news conference yesterday. “This is going to be a totally different match, Davis Cup, a different situation. I think it’s something we’re both looking forward to. Roger can play on any surface so it’s going to be a tough one.”
Federer, 22, beat Philippoussis 7-6, 6-2, 7-6 to win his maiden grand slam title in July.
Philippoussis, 26, was restricted to gym work on Monday but was back on court yesterday at Melbourne Park’s Rebound Ace courts. “I’m feeling pretty good. I can’t complain. I had a bit of a cough but it’s a lot better.”
Melbourne’s Philippoussis and his Adelaide-born teammate Lleyton Hewitt declared themselves fully fit yesterday after injury and illness concerns.
Hewitt said he had recovered from a hip muscle injury that slowed him down during the US Open earlier this month where he lost in the quarterfinals to Spain’s world No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero. “I’ve had treatment since I played Ferrero,” former world number one Hewitt said.
“I’ve had a lot of tightness in my hip flexor and I just couldn’t push up on my serve. At the moment I haven’t felt it at all in practice. Hopefully it’s going to go away and I’m not going to have a problem this weekend.
“Against Ferrero I felt like I was playing as well as I’ve probably played for most of the year,” the 2001 US Open winner added. “I had chances to go up two sets to one and it wasn’t meant to be.”
Thai, Czech Players Upbeat
on World Group Placings
The Czech Davis Cup team vowed yesterday to maintain its World Group placing in this weekend’s play-off, while opponent Thailand also said it was confident of booking a place for the first time.
No. 1 Czech player Jiri Novak was upbeat on his team’s chances of winning its series against first-time host Thailand despite second key player Radek Stapanek being forced out by injury.
“We feel very confident. We have big players and a new-coming star, which makes us a pretty strong team,” Novak told a news conference, referring to rising star Tomas Berdych. Czech coach Cyril Suk predicted a win despite Thailand’s home-side advantage. “Thailand benefits as the home country, the crowd will be with them. I think we will win, but not easily,” Suk said.
Thai captain Chanachai Srichaphan said meanwhile he was confident his team could edge out the Czechs.
“Even though they have the upper hand, we are confident of playing against them and surprises happen in the Davis Cup,” he said. Asia’s No. 1 Paradorn Srichaphan said he expected a difficult match ahead.
“It will be a tough game between us because the Czechs play well on this kind of surface,” he said.
Novak defeated Paradorn in three straight sets when they met in Madrid late last year, but Novak conceded the Thai star had improved since then. Thailand hopes to clinch its place by performing strongly in the singles matches, Lawn Tennis Association president Suwat Liptapanlob said.
The Czechs are favorite to win the doubles match between top Czech duo Bohdan Ulharach and David Rikl, ranked above Thailand’s Narathorn Srichapan and Attapol Rithiwattanapong, he said.
