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Another injury Philippoussis to miss Davis Cup semis
Posted: Sunday July 09, 2000 09:16 AM
SYDNEY (Reuters) -- Australia's Davis Cup defense has been thrown into confusion by the shock withdrawal of Mark Philippoussis just days before the semifinal in Brisbane against Brazil which starts on Friday. Philippoussis, who reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon before losing to Andre Agassi, has returned home to Melbourne and has a knee injury, putting enormous pressure on Wimbledon finalist Pat Rafter. Rafter, who was playing Pete Sampras in the final on 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 grueling five-setters against Dutchman Sjeng Schalken and Tim Henman before losing to Agassi in the quarters. Philippoussis had seemingly returned to favor 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 surprise 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, which includes Hewitt, Rafter and Woodforde. However, Woodbridge has already signaled he may be unavailable because of plans to attend a memorial service in Ireland for his former Florida neighbor and friend, American golfer Payne Stewart. Hewitt is in the Wimbledon mixed doubles final with his Belgian girlfriend Kim Clijsters and will also face 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 April last year, winning a dead rubber singles match on the Sunday with what he admitted later was a hangover from drinking "beer and shots."
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
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