- News>
- Tennis
Australia takes 2-1 lead in final
Melbourne, Nov 29: They played the correct National Anthem at the Davis Cup final Saturday. After that, it was all downhill for Spain.
Melbourne, Nov 29: They played the correct National
Anthem at the Davis Cup final Saturday. After that,
it was all downhill for Spain.
The established Australian doubles team of Todd
Woodbridge and Wayne Arthurs easily beat Spain's Feliciano
Lopez Antja Alex Corretja 6-3, 6-1, 6-3 to give Australia a
2-1 lead going into Sunday's reverse singles
matches on grass at Rod Laver Arena.
Before Saturday's match, Australian officials played the current Spanish National Anthem, trying to reverse an embarrassing gaffe at the opening ceremony that saw an outdated one played.
On Friday, Spanish officials were furious in the stands while the old version was played by a lone trumpeter Australian jazz legend James Morrison. They later demanded and received an apology from Australian officials, who admitted they gave Morrison the wrong anthem to learn.
On Saturday, the Spanish players stood quietly while the current anthem was played without incident. Minutes later, Corretja had his service broken for the first time and the Australian rout was on, giving the capacity crowd of just under 15,000 only 82 minutes of tennis. The title will be decided on Sunday when Mark Philippoussis takes on Juan Carlos Ferrero in the first reverse singles, followed by Lleyton Hewitt's match with Carlos Moya.
Hewitt gave Australia a 1-0 lead with a five-set win Friday over Ferrero while Moya beat Philippoussis in four sets to level the final after the first day. Bureau Report
Before Saturday's match, Australian officials played the current Spanish National Anthem, trying to reverse an embarrassing gaffe at the opening ceremony that saw an outdated one played.
On Friday, Spanish officials were furious in the stands while the old version was played by a lone trumpeter Australian jazz legend James Morrison. They later demanded and received an apology from Australian officials, who admitted they gave Morrison the wrong anthem to learn.
On Saturday, the Spanish players stood quietly while the current anthem was played without incident. Minutes later, Corretja had his service broken for the first time and the Australian rout was on, giving the capacity crowd of just under 15,000 only 82 minutes of tennis. The title will be decided on Sunday when Mark Philippoussis takes on Juan Carlos Ferrero in the first reverse singles, followed by Lleyton Hewitt's match with Carlos Moya.
Hewitt gave Australia a 1-0 lead with a five-set win Friday over Ferrero while Moya beat Philippoussis in four sets to level the final after the first day. Bureau Report