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Woodies' world Doubles duo gives Australia 2-1 Davis Cup edge
Posted: Saturday December 04, 1999 08:14 PM
NICE, France (AP) -- Mark Woodforde and Todd Woodbridge staged a brilliant comeback to beat France's Fabrice Santoro and Olivier Delaitre on Saturday and take Australia to within one victory of a Davis Cup final triumph. The pair's 2-6, 7-5, 6-2, 6- win silenced French fans and gave Australia a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five final. Australia, playing its 44th final, will win the fabled trophy for a 27th time if Mark Philippoussis beats Cedric Pioline on Sunday, while it's Lleyton Hewitt vs. Sebastien Grosjean in the final match. Woodforde and Woodbridge, now unbeaten in 11 Davis Cup matches spanning five years, used all their experience to claw back into the match after the French pair came to within just one point of taking a two sets to nil lead. "We came back from the dead," Woodbridge said. "At 5-3 and a set down it felt like we were two sets down. It was an incredible feeling to win from where we were." "I hadn't missed a ball in practice by more than a foot and suddenly today I was missing by ten. But we started to settle and that was the key," he added. Both teams knew the importance of the match: ever since 1978 the winner of the doubles match in the Davis Cup final has gone on to win the trophy. Initially the thunderous support that unnerved Grosjean on Friday only served to inspire France's doubles team, who raced to a 4-0 first-set lead. Santoro's deft lob to break Woodbridge's service indicated their early dominance. Santoro and Delaitre, a team that has won five doubles titles, looked unstoppable taking the first set in just 38 minutes and moving to a 4-2 second set lead. In the fourth game of the second set, the crowd was brought to its feet when Delaitre won a point with an instinctive volley played from behind his back. But the Aussies refused to buckle, saving four set points at 2-4and a set point when Santoro was serving for the second set at 5-4. Suddenly France's volleying lost its sparkle. The Woodies broke service again to take the second set before dominating the third to the delight of the Australian fans decked in green and gold. Santoro's service faltered in the third game of the fourth set and despite fervent home support the visiting team eased to victory, winning 16 of the last 20 games. Woodforde sealed the 3 hour eight-minute win with a smart high backhand volley and the Australian camp immediately began celebrating. "It is so satisfying because a lot of people thought we couldn't win before and during the match. I have never seen Mark so emotional," Woodbridge said. Team captain John Newcombe was full of praise for his players. "I haven't seen Mark react so fast for about four years. He was like a man possessed," he said. With Sandon Stolle playing in place of Woodbridge, Australia lost its quarterfinal and semifinal Davis Cup doubles matches. Santoro and Delaitre had won the two previous meetings against Woodforde and Woodbridge, both last year, but Newcombe had no hesitation in reuniting the experienced pair, five time Wimbledon champions, twice winners at the U.S. Open and Australia's most successful Davis Cup doubles pair with 13 wins. The French captain said his team would come out fighting Sunday.
"Tonight I will tell the team that they have their backs to the wall," he said. "We will have to be aggressive and creative."
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