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SYDNEY -- Australia's Davis Cup defense was thrown into confusion by the shocking withdrawal of Mark
Philippoussis days before the semifinal in Brisbane against
Brazil.
Philippoussis, who reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon
before losing to Andre Agassi, returned home to Melbourne
with a knee injury, putting enormous pressure on Wimbledon
finalist Pat Rafter heading into the competition that starts Friday.
Rafter, who played Pete Sampras in the Wimbledon final Sunday,
now faces having to fly back to Australia as soon as possible to
prepare for the first day of Davis Cup singles alongside Lleyton
Hewitt.
Australian Davis Cup captain John Newcombe had said he
wanted to rest Rafter until the doubles match on Saturday.
"It looks like Philippoussis has pulled out so I have to
play on Friday," Rafter said at his news conference in London
after beating Andre Agassi in five sets in the Wimbledon
semifinals.
Tennis Australia issued a statement from Brisbane on Sunday,
saying Philippoussis was suffering inflammation of the left knee
and quoted Newcombe as saying: "Mark needs a rest."
Philippoussis, the 10th seed at Wimbledon, survived
gruelling five-setters against Dutchman Sjeng Schalker and Tim
Henman before losing to Agassi in the quarters.
Philippoussis had seemingly returned to favour with the
Australian public after playing a heroic role in the Davis Cup
final victory in December against France in Nice.
His relations with other members of the team reached a low
point in 1998 when he pulled out of a tie against Zimbabwe in
Australia because of a dispute with Newcombe and Australian
Davis Cup coach Tony Roche, then turned up to watch as the
Australians suffered a surprising loss.
Doubles specialist Todd Woodbridge, fresh from winning his
sixth Wimbledon doubles title on Saturday with Mark Woodforde,
is the likely candidate to replace Philippoussis in the four-man
team that includes Hewitt, Rafter and Woodforde.
However, Woodbridge has already signalled he may be
unavailable because of plans to attend a memorial service in
Ireland for his former Florida neighbour and friend, American
golfer Payne Stewart.
Hewitt was in the Wimbledon mixed doubles final with his
Belgian girlfriend Kim Clijsters and was also facing a quick trip
back to Australia to prepare for the Davis Cup.
Rafter famously partied with Newcombe and the Australian
team on the Saturday night of a Davis Cup tie in
Adelaide, South Australia, in 1997, winning a dead rubber
singles match on the Sunday with what he later admitted was a
hangover from drinking champagne.
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