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Dispelling the rumors Philippoussis headlines Australia's Davis Cup team
Posted: Tuesday January 25, 2000 12:51 PM
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) -- Mark Philippoussis will play for the Australian Davis Cup team this year after all. Philippoussis, Lleyton Hewitt, Sandon Stolle and Wayne Arthurs were named to the team Monday by captain John Newcombe. Australia will open defense of its title next month against Switzerland. The announcement ended speculation that Philippoussis, a key player in Australia's Davis Cup final win over France in Nice last December, didn't want to play the matches in Zurich starting Feb. 4. However, Newcombe, who named the team following Hewitt's fourth-round loss to Magnus Norman at the Australian Open, said Philippoussis had committed himself to playing Davis Cup this year and he never had doubts about his availability. Philippoussis and Hewitt are expected to play singles, with the doubles comprised of either Stolle and Arthurs, or Stolle and Hewitt. Hewitt, who won 13 consecutive matches and clinched back-to-back titles in Adelaide and Sydney before losing to No. 12 seeded Norman, will play doubles depending on his fitness level, Newcombe said. "He's had a very busy month," he said. "We'll wait to see how he goes in his singles match before making a decision on the doubles -- if he has a tough match we might give him a rest." Newcombe also said two-time U.S. Open champion Pat Rafter had been considered a candidate for the doubles but had not fully recovered from the shoulder surgery last October.
The Swiss team has been in turmoil since new captain Jakob Hlasek decided to leave former No. 1 Marc Rosset off the team. No. 1 Roger Federer said he was demanding "round table discussions" to find a solution to the disharmony.
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