Melbourne, Sept 16: Australia's Davis Cup semi-final against Switzerland has been moved from midday to afternoon and evening slots to boost television audiences in both countries, Tennis Australia (TA) said today.
The opening singles rubbers on Friday will start at 3pm and no earlier than 6.30pm local time. The three-day tie will be played on the Rod Laver Arena Centre Court, which hosts the Australian Open in January. Swiss Wimbledon champion Roger Federer and his lower-ranked team mates will start as underdogs against Australia led by former world number one Lleyton Hewitt and 2003 Wimbledon runner-up Mark Philippoussis.
''It means that the matches will be shown in prime-time in Australia and a more viewer-friendly time in switzerland so it's helpful to both countries and more people will get to see the tie,'' TA spokesman John Lindsay said today.

''The Swiss are extremely interested in the matches. We've got about 20 media on site from Switzerland and a number of TV stations from Switzerland are sending personnel.



''You can imagine with the new Wimbledon champion taking on the old Wimbledon champion (Hewitt) and the Wimbledon finalist (Philippoussis), interest in this tie is extremely high in Switzerland and in Europe.''



Lindsay added it was not the first time Australia had hosted a Davis Cup tie later in the afternoon.



''I'm not convinced that it's the first time in a hundred years (for Davis Cup evening matches in Australia),'' Lindsay said.



Saturday's doubles rubber will start at 3pm local time. Local officials are fighting to promote the tie against Melbourne's obsession with Australian Rules Football.



AFL preliminary final rivals Collingwood and Port Adelaide clash just a five-minute walk away from the tennis at Melbourne cricket ground before an expected sell-out crowd of 80,000 fans on Saturday afternoon.



The Davis Cup semi-final would be played as an outdoor tie although the roof could be closed if necessary, Lindsay said.


Bureau Report