Injured Hewitt, Nadal withdraw
2007-09-23 13:14
Belgrade - A virus has forced Lleyton Hewitt to pull out of a crucial Davis Cup tie against Serbia here on Sunday, leaving Australia on the cusp of relegation for only the second time in their history.
Former world No 1 Hewitt, due to have faced US Open finalist Novak Djokovic with Australia 2-1 down in the World Group playoff, has been replaced by Chris Guccione, Tennis Australia spokesperson Darren Pearce said.
Pearce said: "He has a viral infection, he's got a very high temperature.
"He simply can't get out of bed," he quoted Australia team captain John Fitzgerald as saying ahead of the match.
He added, however, that "as one door closes another opens. This is the opportunity of Guccione's life," Fitzgerald said, referring to the world No 94 singles player.
Victory by world No 3 Djokovic over Guccione would banish Australia - the second most successful Davis Cup nation with 28 titles - from the elite stages of the competition for only the second time in their history.
On the tie's opening day, Djokovic had breezed past Peter Luczak in straight sets before Hewitt staged a typical fight-back to beat Janko Tipsarevic in a five-set thriller.
Djokovic and Nenad Zimonjic had themselves fought back from a set down in Saturday's doubles rubber against Hewitt and Paul Hanley before they sealed a 2-1 advantage going in to Sunday's reverse singles.
Meanwhile Reuters reported from Bangkok that the world No 2, Rafael Nadal of Spain pulled out of this week's Thailand Open because of a knee injury.
The organisers said that Nadal was at home in Mallorca receiving treatment for tendonitis in his left knee, which plagued him during the recent US Open, where he reached the fourth round.
This year's seeds for the $550 000 Thailand Open include Andy Roddick, Tommy Haas, Novak Djokovic, Dmitry Tursunov, Carlos Moya and Ivo Karlovic.
The main draw gets underway on Tuesday.
- SAPA