Lleyton Hewitt and Bernard Tomic put Australia on the brink of a long-awaited return to the Davis Cup World Group as both secured impressive straight-set wins on day one of their playoff in Poland.
Cup legend Hewitt carried on from his stellar run at the US Open with a 6-1 6-3 6-2 demolition of Lukasz Kubot, Poland’s No.1 player in the tie after the injury withdrawal of world No.14 Jerzy Janowicz.
Australian No.1 Tomic then backed it up with a hard-fought 7-5 7-6 (7-1) 6-4 win over Michal Przysiezny to secure a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five claycourt tie in Warsaw.
Pat Rafter’s men need only one more win to seal a return to the competition’s top tier for the first time since 2007, with Hewitt and Chris Guccione able to wrap up the win in Saturday’s doubles.
After three successive playoff losses, 28-time champions Australia are now perfectly poised to end their six-year stint in the Davis Cup wilderness.
But, having surrendered final-day leads in their past three playoff ties – including last year’s heartbreaking loss to Germany in Hamburg – they aren’t getting carried away.
“It’s by no means over but it’s a perfect start for us,” said Hewitt, who improved his Davis Cup singles win-loss record to 40-13.
Feeling like he’d lost none of the form from his run to the last 16 at Flushing Meadows, ageless warrior Hewitt was off to a flyer against 70th-ranked Kubot.
Aided by 17 unforced errors from the Pole – and the support of a vocal group of Australian Fanatics at the Torwar Hall indoor arena – Hewitt wrapped up the first set inside 32 minutes.
Kubot tried to rally but 58th-ranked Hewitt’s clean striking and smart tactics on serve never allowed him into the match.
The former world No.1 did not have his serve broken once in a victory that took less than two hours.
“Coming in playing Lukasz, their number one, on day one I saw it as an opportunity for me to crack the tie wide open,” Hewitt said.
“I was very prepared for whatever Lukasz was going to throw at me today.
“I was in the right frame of mind and played a very smart and good tactical match.”
Tomic was made to work much harder for victory against 113th-ranked Przysiezny, called into the team to replace Wimbledon semi-finalist Janowicz.
But he served beautifully and showed coolness under pressure in the big moments.
World No.51 Tomic, who has endured a tumultuous year including the recent conviction of his father and coach John for assault, has now won 11 of 13 singles rubbers in Davis Cup.