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8th April, 2000 Great to be back with mates RETURNING to Davis Cup has been everything I had expected. Davis Cup is all about hanging out with the boys, training hard, having fun and going to dinner as a team. I tended to miss the little things like talking to Newk (captain John Newcombe) and Rochey (coach Tony Roche) about what surface we would like to play on,discussing our opponents and all the plannng that goes into trying to win matches. We work hard getting ready for matches and everybody gets behind Newk and Rochey and does their best for the team because Davis Cup means so much to us. Lleyton Hewitt and Wayne Arthurs deserve all the credit for putting Australia into a fantastic position after the singles matches. They have effectively lifted most of the pressure from the rest of the team. Going into the doubles yesterday ahead 2-0, knowing Lleyton plays the first match today, meant Mark Woodforde and I could play with virtually no pressure. But we still wanted to play well and get the right result for the team. That's the most enjoyable part about Davis Cup - the way we can all contribute. I hadn't played since the quarter-final last year against the US in Boston. And even though I had been in Brisbane for the semi final in September helping out, I also missed the matches against France in Nice and against Switzerland in Zurich. Stepping back in 2-0 ahead meant there were fewer nerves on Friday night than normal. But we were pretty anxious on the first day just watching Lleyton and Wayne getting ready to go out and play. There was a lot of anxiety pre-match and when that happens we tend to go into our own worlds a bit. The nerves started to disappear when Lleyton's match started. He was playing so well, but even watching, you tend to go through a lot of emotions. We went from being tense and uptight to feeling a little more relaxed as the match went on. I basically hate watching because I find it very difficult just sitting there not being able to do something. I'd prefer to be out there playing.
There's no point even attempting it unless you feel right, because Davis Cup is not just about yourself, it's about your mates and your country. Lleyton could not have been more impressive against Michael Kohlmann. He's just getting better and better all the time. He hardly makes a mistake and he's now strong and very good in the way he approaches every match. He didn't let Kohimann into the match at any time and made sure we got off to a perfect start in front of his home crowd. Whatever pressure there was, Lleyton handled it really well. Wayne was also fantastic. He served really well, and even though David Prinosil had his chances and rdssed some crucial points, Wayne hung in there right to the end and came out with an important win. It was just the start we wanted, even if it was a little nerve-wracking.
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