Melbourne, Nov 20: Spain have blundered by not coming to Australia earlier to practise on grass ahead of their Davis Cup tennis final later this month, doubles specialist Todd Woodbridge said here yesterday.
The Spaniards have been preparing at home and in Houston, Texas and they are not expected to get a first-hand feel of the Melbourne courts until today, a week out from the November 28-30 tie at Melbourne Park.
Woodbridge practised on Kooyong's grass courts with doubles partner Wayne Arthurs shortly after arriving here yesterday.
Lleyton Hewitt has been working out on grass for almost three weeks and Mark Philippoussis went straight from the airport to the courts after arriving Tuesday.
"I wouldn't have gone back to Spain (after the Masters Cup in the US) to practise on grass before coming to Australia, I would have been down here," Woodbridge said.



"If the match courts plays like this, they're pretty hard and fast already and they're not going to be hard and fast in Barcelona, where the court is."



"I think that plays to our advantage, that they're not here early," he said.


Bureau Report