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| 14 Jul 2010 | |
| GUEST BLOG: Aussie skippers learn from the best |
 By Leo Schlink
Neale Fraser, John Newcombe and John Fitzgerald (pictured right) are the only men to have captained Australia since the retirement of the great Harry Hopman in 1969.
All have been shaped by Hopman, the most dominant and legendary figure in Australia’s Davis Cup history, and all have made a rich contribution to the competition, having achieved the rare feat of being crowned champion as both a player and captain.
But each of the trio has managed to bring a taste of individuality to the position Hopman famed with 15 victories in 20 years during a glorious period of antipodean dominance.
Fraser led Australia from 1970 to 1993, delivering four Davis Cup titles. The 1960 Wimbledon champion could scarcely believe his good fortune at the 1973 Final against USA in Cleveland, when he had the luxury of picking Newcombe, Rod Laver, Mal Anderson and Ken Rosewall.
The arch-conversative 'Frase' pioneered the courtside lounge chair. Not only did it keep him comfortable, it conveyed a sense of serenity to the players. As it turned out, he needed every trick in a bulging book to snare three more triumphs in 1977, 1983 and 1986.
More often than not, Fraser's teams were out-ranked but rarely out-performed. He finally handed over the reins in 1994 to Newcombe who, in tandem with old mate Tony Roche, guided Australia to Davis Cup glory again in 1999, defeating France on clay in the Final, in Nice.
For Newcombe, a master motivator who refuses to trade in negative thoughts, the victory was as special as any of his seven Grand Slam singles titles and his own Davis Cup playing achievements. When he stepped down in 2001 for Fitzgerald to take over, succession was successful.
Fitzgerald brings large parts of the Fraser mentality to the job with several touches of his own. He savoured victory against Spain at Melbourne Park in the 2003 Final, with Mark Philippoussis, Lleyton Hewitt, Todd Woodbridge and Wayne Arthurs getting the job done.
When Fitzgerald bows out, expect Australia to stick with its tradition of entrusting the job to a successful former player. Pat Rafter, Lleyton Hewitt or Darren Cahill, anyone?
Country folk
Despite most of its home soil glories being played out in major metropolitan centres, Australia's tennis heartland - traditionally - has been the country. The nation's greatest players gravitated from the "bush" to international stardom.
Rod Laver hailed from Rockhampton, Roy Emerson grew up in Blackbutt, Tony Roche was raised in Tarcutta, Margaret Court came from Albury and Evonne Goolagong from Barellan.
Australia has made a habit recently of taking international tennis to the regional centres with ties in diverse places such as Mildura and Townsville.
September’s World Group play-off tie against Belgium will be staged in Cairns, FNQ – that's Far North Queensland to the uninitiated. Cairns is renowned as a tourist hotspot and if the visiting Belgian team, umpires and officials get the opportunity to take a boat cruise, the wondrous Great Barrier Reef is a must.
The heat of battle
Davis Cup will forever have a place in the heart of Australians, and not just because the green and gold warriors have won Dwight Davis' famed trophy 28 times, a figure bettered only by USA, but because a string of champions have been toughened in the heat of Davis Cup battle.
Lleyton Hewitt and Pat Rafter both came to gain a better understanding of what is required at Grand Slam level after being put through the Davis Cup mill. Both men advanced to win major singles titles and reach the world No. 1 ranking.
GUEST BLOGGER... Leo Schlink
 Leo Schlink is News Limited of Australia's group tennis writer. His abiding wish is have a permanent Australian presence in the Davis Cup by BNP Paribas' World Group - and more Aussies in the world's top 10. Other than that, the chance to travel to a few more far-flung destinations and observe the magic of Davis Cup's home and away format would do nicely.
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