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Australia win opening singles

Wayne Arthurs upset world No. 2 Yevgeny Kafelnikov 6-2, 6-7 (4-7), 6-2, 6-0 today to lift Australia to a commanding 2-0 lead over Russia in their Davis Cup semi-final.

Playing his first Davis Cup match at the ripe old age of 28, Arthurs outplayed his more accomplished opponent after Australian teenager Lleyton Hewitt crushed Russia's Marat Safin in the first match 7-6 (7-0), 6-2, 4-6, 6-3.

"This is the biggest day of my life,'' said Arthurs, who was only called into the squad after Australia's top players Pat Rafter and Mark Philippoussis withdrew because of injury.

The Russians never looked comfortable on the grass court surface at Brisbane's ANZ stadium, making fundamental mistakes while their opponents flourished.

Hewitt, who made his Davis Cup debut in July in the quarter-finals against the United States, got the ball rolling when he overcame a shaky start to demoralise Safin.

"Once I got on top of him, he basically just chucked in the towel,'' Hewitt said. ''I really should have won in straight sets.''

Playing on grass for only the second time in his career, Safin appeared nervous and was often distracted by the capacity crowd.

When the match finished, he walked from the court with his head bowed, then told reporters that he had been totally deflated by the whole experience.

"In my whole life, I have never played like that,'' a despondent Safin said.

''I just have no confidence at the moment. I feel so bad that I don't think I could beat anybody at the moment.

''It's going to be hard for me to come back on the court after this match. Maybe I should quit tennis in a few days.''

Safin, the hero of Russia's quarter-final win over the Slovak Republic in July, reached set point on Hewitt's serve in the 10th game of the first set but failed to convert his chance as the Australian took control of the match with his more reliable serve and volley game.

Hewitt took the set when he rattled off seven points in succession in the tie-breaker then won the second with two breaks.

The Adelaide teenager, who has climbed to a ranking of 31 in the world, also looked to be in control of the third set when he led 3-0 and 4-2 before momentarily losing concentration.

Safin fought back to take the set but was unable to continue his momentum in the fourth as Hewitt regained control, clinching victory after two hours and 39 minutes.

Arthurs was just as dominant against Kafelnikov, the reigning Australian Open champion.

He caught the Russian by surprise in the first set with his booming serve, then dropped the second when Kafelnikov's experience got him through the tie-breaker.

Unperturbed, Arthurs struck back to take the third to break Kafelnikov's spirit before running away with the fourth.

''I've never performed worse than that in my life,'' Kafelnikov said.

UNI