Australia determined to avoid Davis Cup complacency

If Australia's Davis Cup team are privately yodelling with glee at the prospect of near certain victory against Great Britain this weekend, they are giving no sign of it in public. The Australian captain, John Fitzgerald, who will be fielding Lleyton Hewitt and Mark Philippoussis against two lowly ranked Britons in the singles rubbers, insisted yesterday that the World Group first-round tie was "a two-horse race".

Asked about the likelihood of an upset British win, Fitzgerald replied: "Stranger things have happened in this sport."

Hewitt, the world no 1, and Philippoussis, a former top 10 player, will spearhead the Australian campaign against a British team consisting of four virtual nonentities. The withdrawal of the top two Britons, Tim Henman and Greg Rusedski, who are injured, has thrown Arvind Parmar, Miles Maclagan, Alex Bogdanovic and Alan Mackin into the fray.

The British captain, Roger Taylor, was scheduled to name his team later today for the three-day tie, which begins at the International Tennis Centre here on Friday.

Fitzgerald, who is expected to play Todd Woodbridge and Wayne Arthurs in Saturday's doubles, said: "There's been no negative talk about the British team in our locker-room. We're preparing for this match like we would for any other, no matter who is favoured. "We're treating the opposition as if they're at full strength. They dislike losing as much as we do, and that's enough stimulation to get the best out of us."

Fitzgerald said the Australians had been practising intensively on the court at Homebush Bay. "We've been hitting a lot of balls the past few days, getting better every day."

Philippoussis appears to have refreshed his memory since he was last asked about Bogdanovic and Maclagan and replied: "Who is that? Sorry, I don't know." When told who they were, he did hastily add: "I don't mean to be arrogant. I'm not great with names. I'm sure if I saw them, I would know them."

The big server said yesterday that he was looking forward to his first Davis Cup appearance since leading Australia to glory against France in the final in Nice three years ago. That victory was achieved on a clay court laid by the home team in the hope of disconcerting the Australians.

Philippoussis, who has been out of action since then as a result of injury and disagreements with the former Australian captain, is making his Davis Cup comeback on another clay court – this time chosen by the Australians, to give themselves an advantage they no longer need thanks to the absence of Henman and Rusedski.

Arthurs said yesterday that the encounter would still be a big event. "I don't think there's been any gloss taken off the tie," he said. "To have Tim and Greg here would have been a sensational tie, but we've got to be looking at it as one step to the final. For us, it's probably better that they're not here."