Melbourne, Sept 15: Mark Philippoussis appears to be suffering from a cold - or a lack of desire to practice – just four days away from the start of Australia's Davis Cup tennis semifinal with Switzerland. Philippoussis has not had a full practice session since arriving in Melbourne late last week. The Wimbledon finalist had a cough when he arrived back in Australia, but Australian captain Fitzgerald said today there are no concerns over Philippoussis's health.
"Mark is always inclined to practice a little less," Fitzgerald said. "But we're happy. He had a bit of a cough after getting off the plane. Professional athletes play with niggles all the time." In Philippoussis' absence, former world no 1 Lleyton Hewitt had another strong session at Melbourne Park as did Australia's likely doubles pair of Todd Woodbridge and Wayne Arthurs.

Hewitt spent more than two hours on court, following a three-hour session the day before.



Switzerland will be led by Roger Federer, who beat Philippoussis in the Wimbledon final. In doubles, non-playing captain Marc Rosset could be reunited with Federer or George Bastl. Rosset and Federer combined to beat the French pair of Nicolas Escude and Fabrice Santoro in the Davis Cup quarterfinal in April.



Neither team is required to finalize its lineup until the draw is made on Thursday. The winner will play the Argentina-Spain semifinal winner in late November's final.


Bureau Report