MALAGA, Spain, 20 September 2003 — Past and present world No. 1s Carlos Moya and Juan Carlos Ferrero put Spain in the driving seat on the opening day of their Davis Cup semifinal against Argentina here yesterday.

French Open champion Ferrero, currently top of the world rankings, was first up, blitzing Gaston Gaudio 6-4, 6-0, 6-0 to fire Spain into an early lead in a two-hour contest. Former world No. 1, and 1998 French Open champion, Moya then took advantage of an ailing Mariano Zabaleta, overcoming a two-set deficit to win 5-7, 2-6, 6-2, 6-0, 6-1 in just over three hours in searing heat deep in the southern region of Andalucia.

With a 2-0 lead to take into today’s doubles, Spain look set fair for the final as they chase their second title after winning on home clay in Barcelona three years ago against Australia. Alex Corretja and Albert Costa could settle matters today if they see off Lucas Arnold and Agustin Calleri.

In Melbourne, Wimbledon champion Roger Federer swept past big-serving Mark Philippoussis to haul Switzerland level 1-1 in their Davis Cup semifinal against Australia. Runner-up to Federer at Wimbledon in July, Philippoussis’s key weapon deserted him at Melbourne Park as the Swiss broke serve five times in his 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 victory, prompting visiting fans to jangle cow bells in the stands.

“I’m on a 10-match (Davis Cup) winning streak now so I’m very happy with my game,” said Federer, who will play doubles today and reverse singles tomorrow. Australia’s former world No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt had earlier given Australia the perfect start to the tie with a 6-4, 6-4, 6-1 win over Michel Kratochvil.

Philippoussis dropped serve in the second game of the first set. Despite breaking back in the fifth game, the world number 15 dropped serve again in the eighth game with a double fault to trail 5-3.

Federer pulled out a second-service ace to clinch the first set 6-3 in 30 minutes before breaking the Australian’s serve immediately in the first game of the second set. The world No. 3 survived a break point in the eighth game to hold for a 5-3 advantage before taking out the set in 43 minutes. The third set was a tighter affair which inched into a tiebreak, Federer taking it 7-3 with an ace in front of 13,022 fans.

It was Federer’s 10th straight Davis Cup singles win and 30 unbeaten sets stretching back to April 2001 for Switzerland as they chase their first-ever Davis Cup crown. The winner of the tie has a home final against either Spain or Argentina on Nov. 28-30.

Federer’s class prevailed with two mini-breaks to hold three match points and he clinched it on his first with an ace. “He was a little down early in the third set but he came back and I had to give it everything to come back in the third, who knows what would happen if it went four or five sets,” said Federer.

Philippoussis said: “He just played too good for me. I had a slow start, I had my chances, but he played the bigger points a lot more solid than me, any chance I had he came out with a big serve on a big point.”

There was surprise in Bratislava with US Open champion Andy Roddick crashing to an embarrassing defeat to Dominik Hrbaty as Slovakia gained an early edge in their World Group playoff tie. Hrbaty won 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 to register his first ever win over the American.

It also broke Roddick’s 19-match winning streak, but all of those wins had come on hard courts while the American struggled on the clay here. “I had great success with my serve in the first set but this surface is rather slow,” said Roddick. “The balls kept fairly low and I didn’t know how to adapt.”

There was no sign of the drama to come in the first set when Roddick fired down seven aces on his way to a 6-3 win in just 24 minutes. Hrbaty broke at the start of the second set and then built up a lead of 3-0, 4-1 and 5-2 before taking it at 6-3 after 29 minutes.

The third set was tense with Roddick hitting numerous wayward shots on the clay courts of the new Bratislava Tennis Center and Hrbaty was the stronger winning it 6-4. Roddick saved four match points in the eighth game but he was unable to prevent Hrbaty from serving out the set and the match after two hours and seven minutes on court.

Thailand and the Czech Republic split their singles matches 1-1 in their World Group playoff in Bangkok. Jiri Novak put the visiting Czechs ahead when he defeated Danai Udomchoke 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 (7 1) but Asian No. 1 Paradorn Srichaphan brought his country level by besting Bohdan Ulihrach 7-6 (7 2), 6-2, 7-6 (7 4).

In Sundern, Germany, Rainer Schuettler struggled for more than four hours before beating Vladimir Voltchkov to put Germany level 1-1 with Belarus after the opening singles matches of their playoff tie. The Australian Open finalist needed five sets to overcome Voltchkov 6-3, 3-6, 6-7, 6-4, 6-4 and keep alive the three-times champions’ hopes of escaping relegation from the World Group.

Tomas Behrend, playing his first Davis Cup match for Germany, had earlier wasted two match points before falling in five sets to Max Mirnyi. The Brazilian-born Behrend started well, opening a two-set lead, but the powerful Mirnyi fought back to snatch a 5-7, 2-6, 7-6, 6-2, 6-4 win.

Behrend had been leading 5-4 in the third set when he held his match points but Mirnyi survived them both and went on to win the set on a tiebreak before taking control. “On one of the match points the ball was out by a centimeter but that’s sport,” said Behrend. “I kept fighting until the very last point.”

In Casablanca, Morocco’s Younes El Aynaoui and Hicham Arazi sent Great Britain teetering toward the Davis Cup abyss when they won the opening singles to give their team a 2-0 lead in the playoff tie.

Arazi, ranked 60 in the world, brushed aside a feeble challenge from Tim Henman winning 6-4, 6-4, 7-6 (7 4) on the slow clay of Casablanca before El Aynaoui, the world No. 14, came back from a set down to beat Greg Rusedski 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 in two hours 50 minutes.

The Moroccan duo will face Henman and Rusedski in the doubles today where victory will put them into the World Group next year while Britain will be condemned to the Euro Africa zone.

In Zwolle, Netherlands, Unfancied Indian Rohan Bopanna came within a whisker of a major upset when he lost to Dutchman Martin Verkerk in a marathon opening singles in their World Group relegation clash.

In a tension-ridden game in front of 6,000 fans, the two men slugged it out for 4hr 35mins before the giant Verkerk won 5-7, 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (9 7), 12-10. Experienced campaigner Sjeng Schalken, ranked 13 in the world, then brushed aside Prakash Amritraj, the world No. 324, 6-3, 6-1, 6-1 to give the Dutch a 2-0 lead in just one hour and 27 minutes.

Victory in today’s doubles will mean a place in the World Group next year while India will play in the Asia zone. Despite his defeat, Bopanna was overjoyed with his performance.

“I played the best match of my career,” said the 23-year-old.

In Harare, Zimbabwe took a decisive 2-0 lead against Italy in the Davis Cup Euro African Zone Group One tie. Zimbabwe’s Kevin Ullyett came from behind to wrest the first game from Italian number one Filippo Volandri, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, 7-6 (7-5) at the City Sports Center. In the second game, Zimbabwean Davis Cup veteran Byron Black quickly despatched Davide Sanguinetti, 7-6, (7-2), 6-1, 6-3. In today’s doubles, the Italians are fielding fresh players Giorgio Galimberti and Massimo Bertolini, against Black and Ullyett.