Tennis: Johansson beats Rafter in Davis Cup

Thomas Johansson rallied from two sets down to beat Pat Rafter and give Sweden a 1-0 lead in the Davis Cup semi-final against Australia.

Johansson had three match points at 5-3 and clinched the match on his second with a powerful first serve to win 3-6 6-7 6-3 6-2 6-3.

Lleyton Hewitt will try to level for Australia when he plays Jonas Bjorkman in the second singles match.

The doubles will be played on Saturday and the reverse singles on Sunday at Sydney's International Tennis Center.

Rafter dominated the opening sets but Johansson went for broke with a range of attacking strokes.

"For sure, it was my best match so far - to come back from two sets, especially against Pat," Johansson said.

"After the third set I could see he was tired and I felt good out there. I just had to keep him away from the net."

Rafter said he "went to sleep" after the first two sets.

"I knew what was going on but I couldn't get out of that negative rut," said Rafter. "I became flat and predictable ... everything came into his zone and he made me pay for it."