BIG SHOES TO FILL FOR FITZY AND WALLY

6^th August, 2000

The appointment of John Fitzgerald and Wally Masur as Australia's next Davis Cup captain and coach is a fantastic decision.

I know both of them very well and I've worked in the past with Fitzy. Wally is someone I know well, too, and he'll be a great addition to the team.

All the guys get along well with them and I'm looking forward to giving them a hard time. Each has very big shoes to step into after Newk and Rochey, but that was always going to be the case, no matter who took over.

With the announcement out of the way, we can all start focusing on the final under Newk and Rochey.

There's nothing we'd love more than to see them bow out with another victory under their belt. The issue about Mark Philippoussis seems to have been clarified now that he's decided not to play in the final. We know where we stand and can move on.

Whoever we put on court in Barcelona against Spain in December is going to have a bloody tough battle, but we're confident we can do the job.

The shoulder is giving me trouble again. I had a good week at the Canadian Open before the injury flared up and I was beaten by Czech Jiri Novak. I struggled in the first round against Arvind Parmar and then got through tricky matches against Karol Kucera and Sebastien Lareau.

Each time you walk on the court it's a bit of a lottery. You can lose to anyone on any given day.