London, Sept 21: Australia and Spain were up 2-1 in their Davis Cup semifinals going into the decisive singles matches as both ties remained wide open after doubles.
In Melbourne, Todd Woodbridge and Wayne Arthurs defeated veteran Marc Rosset and Wimbledon champion Roger Federer 4-6 7-6 (5) 5-7 6-4 6-4 in a dramatic five-setter, leaving the Aussies one victory from capturing the best-of-five series against Switzerland.
In Malaga, Spain, Lucas Arnold and Agustin Calleri kept Argentina's hopes of reaching the final alive by beating Albert Costa and Alex Corretja 6-3 1-6 6-4 6-2 after Spain raced to a 2-0 lead Friday.
In world group relegation playoffs, Martin Verkerk and John Van Lottum defeated Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna 4-6 7-5 7-5 6-4 to give the Netherlands an unbeatable 3-0 lead against India and a berth in the elite group for next year.

Also in the playoffs: United States 2, Slovakia 1; Austria 2, Belgium 1; Czech Republic 2, Thailand 1; Belarus 2, Germany 1; Morocco 2, Britain 1; Canada 2, Brazil 1; and Romania 2, Ecuador 1.



Lleyton Hewitt can send Australia to the final when he opens singles play today against Federer, who will be trying to win his 11th straight Davis Cup singles match.



Australia will go with Mark Philippoussis in the final match against Michel Kratochvil. "I think we can still win it," Federer said. "We've been down 2-1 before and come back." The match turned when Australia broke Federer's serve in the seventh game of the deciding set.


Bureau Report