Hewitt, over food upset, ready to lead Aussies in Davis Cup tie
Hewitt, over food upset, ready to lead Aussies in Davis Cup tie
Mon Mar 31, 7:02 AM ET
SYDNEY (AFP) - World number one Lleyton Hewitt has recovered from food poisoning
and will lead Australia in the Davis Cup tennis quarter-final against Sweden in
Malmo, team officials said.
Hewitt was laid low with illness in the Miami Masters last week, bowing out in a
second-round straight-sets loss to Spaniard Francisco Clavet.
But Hewitt, who arrived in Sweden on Saturday, has had two training sessions
with teammates Wayne Arthurs and Todd Woodbridge.
The other Australian team member, Mark Philippoussis, was due to arrive in
Sweden later Monday, for the start of the tournament in Malmo on Friday.
Australian coach Wally Masur said Hewitt had fully recovered from his illness
and had been training hard.
"That was just a one-off scenario where he'd eaten something that didn't quite
agree with him," Masur said from Sweden on Monday.
"He was very flat in that match against Clavet. But the good news for us was
that two days after that match Lleyton was back on the court.
"We had Todd Reid (the team's hitting partner) over in Miami with him and he was
back on the court practising hard in the heat and back in the gym for an hour a
day."
Hewitt and Philippoussis will almost certainly be Australia's singles players
against the Swedish team of Thomas Enqvist, Jonas Bjorkman, Magnus Norman and
Joachim Johansson.
But Australian captain John Fitzgerald said he was still considering whether to
team Hewitt and Philippoussis in the doubles rubber as well.
The pair played together successfully in the US earlier this month, reaching the
doubles final in Scottsdale.
Fitzgerald has until Thursday to name his players for each rubber and can change
his doubles combination up to one hour prior to the match.
Fitzgerald said Philippoussis' return to the Davis Cup fold in the opening round
win over Great Britain here last month after a three-year hiatus had been
welcomed by all the team.
"He's a talented player, a ferocious player, he can play singles or doubles and
brings so many other factors to the team," Fitzgerald said in the teleconference
call from Sweden.
"His presence and Lleyton's rounds out the team and gives us more options.
"As for fitting into the team, Mark's a breath of fresh air. We're just
delighted to have him there."
The tie will be played on an indoor hardcourt.
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