Global Sport

Newcombe and Roche had been challenged because Mark Philippoussis fell out with them and refused to play Davis Cup tennis, but they hope to have him back next year alongside US Open champion Pat Rafter.

They have been in charge of the Davis Cup team since 1994, leading Australia to the semifinals in 1997, when they lost to the United States in Washington.

Australia needed to qualify from the play-offs to get back into the World Group for next year’s draw, when they play Zimbabwe, who knocked them out in the first round this year.

“Next year is the centenary of the Davis Cup and we are looking forward to a strong performance by our team,” Tennis Australia President Geoff Pollard said.

Injury plagues Krajicek

STUTTGART: Richard Krajicek was at his brilliant best in Stuttgart but now faces a tricky decision on when to have knee surgery.

By crushing RussianYevgeny Kafelnikov in straight sets in yesterday’s Eurocard Open final, the hard-hitting Dutchman, who has been consistently hampered by injury over the past few years, boosted his chances of a berth in the ATP Tour World Championship for the world’s top eight players.

A few weeks ago, as the 1996 Wimbledon champion looked out of the race for the season-ending event which starts on November 23 in Hanover, he was thinking of having his operation performed around that time.

If he is to go to Hanover, he will have to postpone it, which means he might not be fit in time for next January’s Australian Open.

His Eurocard Open victory allowed Krajicek to move past Briton Tim Henman into the number eight position on the road to the ATP Tour World Championship, for which he qualified in 1992 and 1996.