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Australia’s hopes of returning to the Davis Cup World Group hang on a precipice with Switzerland just one game from snatching the tie after fading light brought a halt to a fifth set decider between Lleyton Hewitt and Stanislas Wawrinka.
An extraordinary day’s play at Royal Sydney ended just before 6pm (AEST) with the tie locked at 2-all and Hewitt 6-4 4-6 7-6 (9-7) 4-6 3-5 down in the final reverse singles.
Play will resume at 11am (AEST) on Monday, the winner of the set ensuring their country returns to the 16-team elite group in 2012.
Officials had no option but to suspend the match despite the inopportune timing, Hewitt now having to win his first serve upon resumption just to stay in the encounter.
But the timing caused plenty of consternation.
Australian team captain Pat Rafter was calling for the match to be suspended early in the second set and was seen remonstrating with the tournament referee on several occasions, at one stage saying: “Now you are just making shit up”.
“You are always fighting with the umpire and I don’t want to get upset with him but if you don’t the referee will obviously just get what he wants so I feel like I’ve got to make a point and stand as well,” Rafter explained afterwards, saying he did however see it from the referee’s perspective.
“It’s really hard when you are watching from the side of the court because you don’t really get a sense of what the ball is doing and what’s in the backdrop so I’m going off what Lleyton reads and he told me that he is starting to really struggle and that’s early in the fifth.”
Even Roger Federer, who was perched courtside after his four set victory over Bernard Tomic in the opening reverse singles rubber on Sunday felt the match should have been suspended earlier.
“It’s a tough call,” said Federer.
“I’ve lost some big matches in the past due to darkness and I always have the feeling that referees leave it a bit too late.
“They try to squeeze in another couple of games so should they have stopped at two-all (in the fifth set)? Probably, that’s my guess.”
Federer’s win over Tomic gave little indication of the drama to come with all but the most optimistic of pundits expecting the tie to come down to the final match between Hewitt and Wawrinka.
The Swiss No.2 had battled injury, his least favoured grass surface and indifferent form in losing his opening singles match to Tomic and then the doubles on Saturday to go into the match an outsider – despite a world ranking of No.19 compared to Hewitt’s No.199.
But Wawrinka turned the formguide on its head to push Hewitt to the brink.
The Australian had not played in a live fifth rubber during his 13-year Davis Cup career but looked up to the task after breaking Wawrinka in the first game and holding on to claim the set.
Wawrinka found his touch and claimed the second but it was a dramatic third set tiebreaker in which Hewitt saved four set points that looked like the turning point
There were more twists to come though.
Wawrinka bludgeoned his way through the fourth set as his brutal backhand found its mark and captured a vital break in the fifth game of the decider to take control of the match as the sun began to set on the waterside venue.
Earlier 16-time grand slam champion Federer had too much experience for 18-year-old Tomic, who again showed his enormous potential before going down 6-2 7-5 3-6 6-3.
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