With Gilbert, Flaw Has Always Been in Follow-through

For the Brad Gilberts of the world, greatness almost always seems to be just one shot away.

The 26-year-old from Piedmont, Calif., has been firmly entrenched in the world’s top 20 since 1985, on the outside looking in, more or less. Gilbert is like the guy on a game show who answers every question to win the lesser prizes, but when they spin the wheel for the trip to Hawaii, he can’t think of the answer.

Now, once again, Gilbert seems poised for entry into an exclusive domain of tennis, the final four of a Grand Slam tournament. On Monday, Gilbert defeated two-time Wimbledon champion Boris Becker in a five-set, fourth-round marathon, to get a shot at crashing the gate at the U.S. Open here.

First, he must get past the indomitable Jimmy Connors in their quarterfinal match today. Obviously, despite Connors’ injured right foot, it won’t be easy to beat the charged-up 35-year-old, who is saying (once again) that this might be the last U.S. Open in which he is a factor.

Secondly, and probably more important here, is the letdown syndrome. After Gilbert recorded his first victory over John McEnroe at the Masters in January 1986, he promptly fell on his face the next round, losing 6-1, 6-2 to Anders Jarryd.

The same thing happened when Gilbert beat Becker earlier this summer in the semifinals of a tournament in Washington. Then, Gilbert proceeded to play an abysmal final, losing 6-0, 6-1 to Ivan Lendl.

So, everything points toward a victory for Connors, who relishes the role of sentimental hero, devoted family man and street fighter, all rolled into one.

But on Monday, Gilbert played Rocky Balboa to Becker’s Apollo Creed.

“I was feeling tired at 5-5 in the fourth set, then there was a guy who walked by who was waving an American flag,” Gilbert said. “It was beautiful.”

Gilbert must have been oblivious to the cheers of “Boris, Boris, Boris,” because he was so inspired by the moment he managed to win eight of the last nine games, pulling off the 2-6, 6-7, 7-6, 7-5, 6-1 upset.

That upset occurred despite a profound difference in serves. People talk about Becker’s serve in awe. As for Gilbert’s, well, they do talk.

“If you ranked people by their second serve, you would put Brad at the bottom and everybody else ahead of him,” said Tom Chivington, Gilbert’s coach. “I guess there goes the adage, you’re only as good as your second serve.”

In retrospect--and isn’t easy to second-guess now?--it might have been interesting if Gilbert, who is ranked No. 15, had been picked to represent the United States when it met West Germany earlier this summer in a Davis Cup relegation round in Hartford, Conn.

“I understand it was a very uncertain decision,” Chivington said. “For the first part of the year, he did not perform very well and he also had a knee injury. The last time he played Davis Cup was against Australia and he lost a key match to (Paul) McNamee, and I guess that entered into it, too.

“But it (the Hartford Davis Cup) was on his best surface.”

The Davis Cup snub must have provided extra incentive for Gilbert. McEnroe couldn’t beat Becker. Neither could Tim Mayotte. And now, in the span of a month and a half, Gilbert has beaten Becker twice.

However, Gilbert has refused to proclaim himself to be the new hope for American tennis. After all, there have been too many setbacks for him on the heels of successes.

“I’m not speaking for American tennis, I am speaking for myself,” Gilbert said. “I’m not playing for anyone, I’m playing for myself and I’m going to do the best I can.”

It rained Tuesday at the National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadow, which washed out most of the tennis.

No. 6 Helena Sukova of Czechoslovakia was the first woman to advance to the semifinals, in the only match of the day to be completed. Sukova, who lost in the final last year, defeated No. 9 Claudia Kohde-Kilsch of West Germany, 6-1, 6-3, in a 53-minute match. That was the actual time on the court. The quarterfinal started at 11:53 a.m. and ended at 5:16 p.m.