Tennis : Lendl Now Wants to Play Davis Cup--for U.S.

One doesn’t have to look closely to notice two significant trends in Davis Cup play.

The first is Ivan Lendl’s obvious reluctance to represent his native country, Czechoslovakia. He didn’t participate in the competition this year and played one doubles match and a partial singles match in 1985.

Then there is the other story. It’s the gradual decline of the United States in Davis Cup play, culminating with its latest shortcoming two weeks ago in Australia.

Neither development is terribly recent. Now, though, the reluctant Lendl is talking about making a Davis Cup reappearance.

Here’s the hitch: He wants to play for the United States.

At first glance, it sounds great. A simple solution to both problems. Lendl could become a citizen, join John McEnroe and friends and help bring the Davis Cup back to the United States.

Well, don’t expect Lendl to be added to the U.S. Davis Cup lineup anytime soon, if at all. Besides his having to wait several years for citizenship, Lendl faces another obstacle known as Rule 45 under section XII concerning qualification for Davis Cup competition, which says:

“A player who is qualified under section A (citizen or a permanent resident for 36 months prior to the event) to represent more than one country has the right to represent any of those countries but, having accepted nomination to represent one of those countries shall not thereafter be eligible to represent any other country, except as provided for . . . “

Among the exceptions: A country that is divided into two or more political entities or a country that has been absorbed by another country.

The United States had better think long and hard about taking over Czechoslovakia just to win the Davis Cup.

Seriously, though, tennis is a different story. Always expect the unexpected. Some say you can’t always get what you want--except in professional tennis.

“I knew the question would come up,” said USTA spokesman Ed Fabricius. “Technically, this would have to be a matter of interpretation by the ITF (International Tennis Federation).”

Then, there is the Martina factor. According to Fabricius, the Federation Cup rules were changed so Martina Navratilova could join the U.S. team when it played in Czechoslovakia in August. The Federation Cup rules were basically the same as Davis Cup rules.

There is a difference, though. Navratilova defected and later became a U.S. citizen. Lendl is a resident alien, just now in the process of obtaining a green card.

Even if the rules were changed, there is no certainty he would be selected for the Davis Cup team.

“Martina has done it,” said Tom Gorman, captain of the U.S. Davis Cup team. “I don’t agree with that kind of a ruling. I think they probably did it for Martina, just one person.

“I haven’t reacted to (Lendl’s comments) before. There’s been no discussion. They can’t do it. You can’t play for another country’s team unless your country dissolves itself or is taken over by another country.”

Lendl’s agent Jerry Soloman knows the point is moot for now. Lendl simply can’t play for the United States because he is not a citizen.

“That may have been taken out of context,” Soloman said of Lendl’s recent comments to the American and Australian press about the issue.

“He has had a bit of a philosophical dispute with the Czechoslovakian federation which has resulted in him not playing Davis Cup for them. It’s been a dream of his to play Davis Cup for the U.S. It’s nothing that is being discussed but it has been a dream of his.”

So, what happened Down Under?

There’s no mystery. The Australians simply had much more Davis Cup experience than the American squad. And a resurgent Pat Cash didn’t help matters as he won two singles matches to lead Australia to a 4-1 victory in Brisbane.

The lack of experience really showed in the singles matches. In the opener, Paul McNamee came back from a 2-1 deficit against Brad Gilbert. After the 10-minute break following the third set, McNamee won 11 straight games.

“I still can’t give you an explanation about that match,” Gorman said. “Brad may have been too overconfident. He hadn’t been in that situation before. We tried to impress just the opposite, not to get overconfident.

Tim Mayotte also took the first set in the second match. He was beating Cash, 6-4, 1-2, when play was interrupted by rain. Then came yet another turnaround. Cash completely dominated when they resumed and won, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2.

Paul Annacone and Ken Flach kept the United States in contention with a five-set victory over Cash and John Fitzgerald. Annacone, who was replacing an injured Robert Seguso, hadn’t played with Flach since their junior days. In all, the Americans fought off five match points in the fourth set.

“That was a great emotional match for us,” Gorman said. “We came back from the depths, from nearly being defeated. The guys really did raise their level of play. We were down two matches and down two sets. It lifted us back to a position where we really had a shot.”

But even after the emotional victory, Gilbert lost to Cash in four sets after winning the first.

“There are degrees of how you feel after you lose,” Gorman said. “We didn’t get blown out. There wasn’t a huge margin of difference as far as tennis ability. They were more confident because of experience. That’s a large portion of it.”

The United States hasn’t won the Davis Cup since 1982, when it defeated France, 4-1. The last U.S. appearance in the final was in 1984, a 4-1 loss to Sweden.

Tennis Notes The collegiate season will open with the Volvo Tennis/All-American tournament Oct. 30-Nov. 2 at the Los Angeles Tennis Center at UCLA. Richey Reneberg of SMU, runner-up at last season’s NCAA tournament and a two-time All-American, leads the 32-player field. Others competing include All-Americans from UCLA, USC, Stanford, Pepperdine, Georgia and Tennessee. . . . Ilie Nastase, Roscoe Tanner, Tim and Tom Gullikson, Tom Gorman, Marty Riessen and Bob Lutz are playing in a Grand Champions tournament this week at The Claremont Club. Singles and doubles play will start Wednesday and the finals are set for next Sunday. . . . The Bruce Wayne Memorial Scholarship tournament will be held next weekend at Sunny Hills Racquet Club in Fullerton. It is dedicated to the late Bruce Wayne, considered the dean of airborne traffic reporters in the Southland. For more information, call (714) 992-1300.