The home court certainly was an advantage for Australia, but not for anybody else in the Davis Cup quarterfinals Friday.
Australia took a 2-0 lead over Belarus with victories by rookie Chris Guccione and veteran Lleyton Hewitt, but France trailed Russia 2-0 and Croatia had to struggle to split 1-1 at home against Argentina.
Elsewhere, Fernando Gonzalez overcame a two-set deficit and beat James Blake, giving Chile the early advantage against the US on the grass courts of California.
Guccione beat Belarus No. 1 Max Mirnyi 7-6 (4), 3-6, 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 and Hewitt defeated Vladimir Voltchkov 6-2, 6-1, 6-2 in swirling, cold winds that bothered players in both matches.
"It was pretty tough conditions out there," Hewitt said. "I just tried to stay mentally tough and hang in."
If Wayne Arthurs and Paul Hanley beat Voltchkov and Mirnyi in Saturday's doubles, Australia will move on to face the winner of the quarterfinal between defending champion Croatia and Argentina.
In Friday's other quarterfinals, Ivan Ljubicic had to rally against Agustin Calleri 6-7 (7), 5-7, 7-6 (6), 6-1, 6-2 to give the Croatians the lead in Zagreb, but in the second match, David Nalbandian had an easy time with Marin Cilic, 6-1, 6-1, 6-2.
Croatia was dealt a blow when Mario Ancic was forced withdraw from the match with a back injury only hours before he was scheduled to play.
He was replaced by Cilic, who is the world's top junior.
In Pau, France, Marat Safin and Nikolay Davydenko gave the Russians a comfortable lead.
Safin beat Richard Gasquet 7-6 (4), 4-6, 6-3, 6-7 (1), 6-1 before Davydenko defeated Arnaud Clement 3-6, 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (4).
In Rancho Mirage, California, besides trailing by two sets, Gonzalez was down a break in the third set before rallying. Gonzalez prevailed in a match that lasted over four hours and had 13 service breaks.
Andy Roddick was to face Nicolas Massu in Friday's second singles. Ljubicic staged an important comeback for Croatia. Down two sets and 4-1 in the tiebreak of the third set, he ran off 17 straight winning points. "It was like someone just turned on the lights," Ljubicic said.
Ljubicic struggled to find his game and often lost his footing on the fast, slippery indoor surface. He was also suffering from jet-lag after a flight from Miami, after finishing runner-up to Roger Federer in the Nasdaq-100 Open final at Key Biscayne.
"My legs were heavy and it took me a long time to get used to the balls," he said. "But I kept feeling fresher and fresher as the game progressed."
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