Dominik Hrbaty began by outlasting Magnus Norman 7-6 4-6 6-4 3-6 6-2 in a three-hour, 36-minute match that turned in the fourth game of the last set.

Then heavily fancied Karol Kucera, conqueror of then-world No 1 Pete Sampras at the Australian Open, overcame early jitters to defeat Mikael Tillstrom 1-6 6-1 6-2 6-4.

The Swedes are without world No 8 Jonas Bjorkman who has a throat infection and 20th-ranked Thomas Enqvist who has elbow problems. Magnus Gustafsson also pulled out because of a cold and Nicklas Kulti is unavailable.

But while the Swedes suffered, Germany glories in the achievements of two 20-year-olds as they seized a 2-0 lead over South Africa in Bremen.Tommy Haas celebrated his 20th birthday on his Davis Cup debut by beating Wayne Ferreira 7-6 3-6 6-3 6-4.

Another20-year-old, Nicolas Kiefer, also with no previous experience of the Davis Cup, overcame a sluggish start to tame Grant Stafford 4-6 4-6 6-1 6-2 6-2 in the opening match.

In Mildura, Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde produced a typically clinical performance to down Zimbabwe's Byron and Wayne Black in straight sets and gave Australia a 2-1 lead. The Woodies beat the Black brothers 6-4 7-6 (8-6) 6-2.

On the opening day, ailing US Open champion Pat Rafter suffered a surprise defeat against lowly-ranked Byron Black 3-6 6-3 6-2 7-6. Jason Stoltenberg overcame Wayne Black 6-3 6-4 5-7 7-5 in the opening singles match.

French Open champion Gustavo Kuerten staged a stunning recovery to overcome Carlos Moya 5-7 1-6 6-4 6-4 6-4 and give Brazil a 1-0 lead against Spain in Porto Alegre.

But Alex Corretja revived Spain's hopes by overcoming Fernando Meligeni 4-6 6-4 3-6 6-4 6-4 in a marathon baseline battle lasting nearly four hours.In Zurich, the Czech Republic were level with Switzerland 1-1.

Czech BohdanUlihrach, a substitute for injured world No 3 Petr Korda, beat Ivo Heuberger 6-7 (6-8) 6-0 7-5 6-2 in the first singles.

Then Marc Rosset blasted 18 aces past Daniel Vacek as, despite 18 double faults, he hammered out a 3-6 6-2 7-6 6-0 comeback victory to square the tie for the Swiss.

In Brussels, Jan Siemerink overcame a lapse of concentration in the third set to topple Johan van Herck 6-4 6-3 4-6 6-1 to give the Netherlands a 1-0 lead over Belgium.

Because of rain, the match started nearly five hours late and the seconds singles had to be postponed to this morning.

In Helsinki, France's Guillaume Raoux beat Tuomas Ketola 6-1, 6-1, 6-1, and Cedric Pioline won over Ville Liukko 6-3, 7-5, 7-5.

Tim Henman and Greg Rusedski gave Britain a 2-0 lead over Ukraine. Rusedski beat Andrei Bybalko 6-4, 6-0, 6-4, and Henman won over Andrei Medvedev 6-2, 6-7 (7-4), 1-6, 6-1.

In Buenos Aires, new world No 1 Marcelo Rios had a tougher time than expected as Chile were held 1-1 by Argentina in the AmericanZone.

In his first match since clinching the top place in the rankings on Sunday, Rios had to fight for almost four hours to subdue 108th ranked Hernan Gumy 6-4 3-6 6-3 7-5.

In the second singles, Argentina's Franco Squillari, ranked 116, beat Chile's 397-ranked Hermes Gamonal 6-2 6-4 6-2.