Australia is on the brink of a place in the Davis Cup final after clawing its way past a tenacious Switzerland in a marathon doubles rubber.

Todd Woodbridge, in his record-equalling Cup performance for Australia, and Wayne Arthurs defeated Wimbledon champ Roger Federer and Swiss captain Marc Rosset 4-6 7-6 (7-5) 5-7 6-4 6-4 in 3 hours 17 minutes.

Australia now holds a 2-1 lead in the semi-final and needs to win only one of tomorrow's reverse singles matches to clinch the tie.

The victory was palpable for Arthurs, who was gutted after losing the Davis Cup singles decider in the final against France here two years ago.

"I wanted to really, really win this match and I wasn't going to lose it," Arthurs said.

"And I think it showed out there as well.

"It's going to stay in my memory for a long, long time."

Woodbridge said he and Arthurs earned the win after losing two close five setters previously together.

"We I think deserved to win that match because of what we've been through," Woodbridge said.

He has now equalled Adrian Quist's record of 28 ties for Australia.

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