US Open champion Pat Rafter and Lleyton Hewitt were given an eye-popping crash course in tennis Zimbabwean style yesterday as Australia's preparations for the first-round Davis Cup tie opened in extraordinary fashion.

Accustomed to practising in world-class facilities, the pair was stunned on arriving at the dilapidated City Sports Centre venue to find the match court had no net - and with none in sight.

Keen to ease jet lag out of his system, world No. 5 Rafter consented to an impromptu hit-up with bemused Hewitt, using a piece of string for the net.

Workmen eventually located a net, but could not find the supporting singles sticks until the session was almost over.

The surroundings appeared to have little impact on the duo as they worked enthusiastically in what is one of the most bizarre Davis Cup settings in the world.

"It could have been worse," Rafter said. "You have to remember tennis in Harare is not what it is elsewhere and you just have to get used to that."

"The main thing is that the court is fine and I'm sure the stadium will look fine once everything is put in there, with the advertising and everything else."

Harare's City Sports Centre is eccentric - and decidely drab. Entry is gained by negotiating a pot-holed single-lane strip of bitumen.

Since more than 3500 spectators are expected to fill the stadium on each of the three days from Friday, the players will do well to arrive earlier than normal to avoid the inevitable traffic snarl.

A low, squat combination of brick, iron and cement will be the site of what looms as the most important Australian Davis Cup appointment in a generation. The centre is used mostly for basketball, indoor hockey and boxing. The Zimbabweans would have preffered to host Australia on grass - the surface it mastered to upset cup captain John Newcombe's troops 3-2 in Mildura last year - but there is no grass-court venue available. The tie will be decided on a new hard court - similar to Rafter's favored US Open cement.

Despite its obvious shortcomings, the City Sports Centre is something of a tennis shrine. Byron and Wayne Black have shown themselves to be virtually unbeatable in what is essentially a barn. Since 1987, Zimbabwe has won 13 of 14 ties at home. And then there is the matter of the 1500m altitude and heavy humidity.

Mark Philippoussis is expected to arrive from Florida tomorrow to resume his representative career after an 18-month absence from the team after a dispute with Newcombe and coach Tony Roche.

Mark Woodforde and Todd Woodbridge are expected to arrive within 48 hours after completing the Lipton championships in Key Biscayne.