Bogdanovic and Mackin rise to the occasion

Hewitt stretched by 18-year-old as Britain suffer expected defeats but avoid Davis Cup humiliation

So peculiar is the position in which Great Britain's Davis Cup team find themselves in this first round world group Davis Cup tie against Australia that two straight sets losses on the opening day were greeted as virtual tours de force.

It had been widely feared that Alan Mackin and Alex Bogdanovic, making their Davis Cup debuts yesterday, would be so overawed by the occasion and so swamped by Australia that they would struggle to win more than a handful of points.

In the event, they produced spirited performances, with the 18-year-old Bogdanovic almost stealing a set from the world No 1, Lleyton Hewitt. He failed, but the result was a respectable 7-5, 6-1, 6-2 defeat in just under two hours, while Mackin stretched Hewitt's team-mate, Mark Philippoussis, to 6-3, 6-3, 6-3.

While there were sighs of relief that the pair managed to avoid the humiliation of more crushing defeats, there was no disguising the scoreline: 2-0 to Australia, with this morning's doubles match a make-or-break encounter as far as Britain's Davis Cup hopes for 2003 are concerned.

Bogdanovic and Mackin, a 21-year-old Scot, were plucked from the obscurity of the European satellite circuit to represent Britain following the withdrawal of the injured Tim Henman and Greg Rusedski. Arvind Parmar and Miles Maclagan, two other relative unknowns, were selected to play doubles today against Todd Woodbridge, one of the world's best doubles specialists, and Hewitt.

Hewitt, who was forced to move up a gear after finding himself 2-4 and 0-30 down on his serve in the first set, had warm words for the Belgrade-born left-hander. "He was really nervous at first, but then he picked up his game and played exceptionally well," he said.

The Australian said Bogdanovic's no 457 ranking did not reflect his abilities. "He's ranked that low because he's just come out of juniors and hasn't played enough tournaments," he said. "I think that if he works hard and works on a couple of areas of his game, he could do well." For the moment, the Briton is painfully inexperienced, and it showed yesterday, particularly when he failed to seize his chances in that first set.

But, to his credit, he did not freeze on his first major outing. He broke the Australian's serve twice in the first set and gave him a work-out in the third. He even treated the crowd to a few fist-pumps, a more sedate version of Hewitt's trademark gesture.

Bogdanovic was clearly on a high afterwards. "I loved it out there," he said. "I really enjoyed myself. I moved him around a bit and I made the openings, but I just didn't have that finishing shot." He said he needed to work on his fitness in order to improve his game. "I've got to improve the physical side and be mentally a bit tougher," he said. "My main goal is to get out there and compete with these guys in the future, but there's still a long way to go."

Mackin, too, rose to the occasion, although he was clearly outplayed by Philippoussis, a former Grand Slam finalist and veteran Davis Cup player. He broke the Australian's powerful serve once in each set and moved him around the court before going down in 1hr 43min.

The Scot, ranked no 331, said the match had been a great experience. "I really enjoyed it," he said. "I thought I was going to be really nervous, but I didn't feel very nervous. I felt quite happy in the rallies, and that was a big thing. There was no way I was going to let him walk all over me. I wanted to give my best effort and play my game."

Mackin said that playing Philippoussis had reinforced his belief that he needed to develop his serve as a weapon if he wanted to break into the top 100. "Mark's a top player, and when the points get close, he can pull out an ace at 30-all, and that's one of the big differences," he said.

The British team captain, Roger Taylor, praised the two men, who will play again tomorrow, in the reverse singles. Taylor said: "I knew they'd fight hard. They were chosen on their ability to play these matches. What they got today, they earned; nothing was given to them. Alex in particular has improved a lot in recent months. Some of his best shots are as good as anyone's."

The Australian captain, John Fitzgerald, said: "It was six straight sets, but they were six toughly-fought sets, maybe with the exception of the middle one in the second match. It took a good effort from our boys to get over the top."

Australia v Britain Davis Cup results and schedule

WORLD GROUP First round (Sydney) (Australia first): M Philippoussis bt A Mackin 6-3, 6-3, 6-3; L Hewitt bt A Bogdanovic 7-5, 6-1, 6-2.

Australia lead Britain 2-0.

Today (doubles): Hewitt and T Woodbridge v A Parmar and M Maclagan.

Tomorrow (singles): Philippoussis v Bogdanovic; Hewitt v Mackin.