Gorman Named Captain of U.S. Davis Cup Team

Although U.S. Davis Cup tennis players no longer will have to promise in writing to behave, Tom Gorman says his first job as captain will be to impress on the players certain standards of conduct.

“I’ll be talking to all of the players,” Gorman said Monday after he was named captain of the U.S. Davis Cup squad. “It’s necessary that players have to be totally informed to what’s expected of them.”

Gorman succeeds Arthur Ashe, who resigned as Davis Cup captain Oct. 22.

The mandatory signing of the pledge was instituted by the United States Tennis Assn. after Sweden defeated the U.S. in the Davis Cup final in December, 1984. During the competition, Jimmy Connors was fined for his court behavior and John McEnroe created a controversy when he criticized the indoor clay court surface.

This year, without Connors and McEnroe, who refused to sign the pledge, the U.S. Davis Cup team beat Japan before losing to West Germany. Gorman, 39, refused to comment on the behavior of American players in the past and sidestepped questions on whether he would attempt to get McEnroe and Connors back on the team.