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| | Saturday, July 15 Doubles victory pushes Australia into finals | |||||
| Associated Press BRISBANE, Australia -- Defending champion Australia advanced to the Davis Cup final Saturday, winning the doubles match to take an unbeatable 3-0 lead over Brazil. Australia now advances to meet wither the United States or Spain, who square next weekend in Santander, Spain. Sandon Stolle and Mark Woodforde beat Gustavo Kuerten and Jaime Oncins 6-7 (3), 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 on the makeshift grass court at ANZ Stadium. Friday, Wimbledon finalist Pat Rafter beat French Open champion Gustavo Kuerten 6-3, 6-2, 6-3, and Lleyton Hewitt defeated Fernando Meligeni 6-4, 6-2, 6-3. In a demonstration of his frustration at some close line calls, Meligeni dropped to the ground and then performed a perfect headstand to protest a fault call on his serve late in the third set. "There was a lot of close calls -- I was disappointed," said Meligeni, adding that he thought the ball was "150 percent in. I was just showing my disappointment." Adding to Brazil's problems, Kuerten aggravated a groin injury and said he was in doubt for Saturday's doubles match and possibly the reverse singles on Sunday. Brazil captain Ricardo Acioly said his team had come too far to give up. "We've got our backs to the wall, we have no option but to win the doubles, or the reverse singles count for nothing," he said. Acioly said he was unsure about the extent of Kuerten's injury and would make an assessment before naming a replacement to partner Jaime Oncins in the doubles. Australian captain John Newcombe said he'd stick with Sandon Stolle to join Wimbledon doubles champion Mark Woodforde, giving Rafter a break. Stolle, a late replacement for the injured Mark Philippoussis, has lost all three Davis Cup doubles matches he's played and has an 0-9 record in doubles finals this season. Newcombe, who guided the Australians to a 27th Davis Cup title with a final win against France in Nice last year, said reaching back-to-back finals was no formality despite the 2-0 buffer. "When you start talking about Davis Cup being a formality, you're in trouble," he said. Rafter broke Kuerten once in the first set and twice in each of the second and third sets to clinch the opening singles match in 81 minutes. Despite the long flight back from England earlier in the week and a lack of practice on the makeshift grass courts at ANZ Stadium, Rafter continued the brilliant serve-volley form that got him through Wimbledon. "I really wanted to get off to a great start -- when you're on a bit of a roll, you want to keep it going," Rafter said. "The luck is going my way and the wins are going my way." Rafter missed the Davis Cup win against Russia in Brisbane and the triumph against France because he was rehabilitating from shoulder surgery. "It's great to be home," he said. In the later match, Meligeni and Hewitt traded breaks before the Australian No. 1 took control with precision groundstrokes. Hewitt broke Meligeni's first two service games of the second set and then moved to the verge of victory when he broke again in the seventh game of the third set. He clinched the match with another break of serve, capping the effort with a forehand winner down the line. | ALSO SEE Defending champ Australia advances to Davis Cup final Saturday's results Britain, Ecuador tied after first day of qualifying round Australia to face Brazil in Davis Cup semis Minus big guns, Mac picks himself for Davis Cup Aussie Davis Cup defense hurt by Philippoussis' withdrawal | |||||