One Down, but Who’s to Go to Czechoslovakia? : Tennis: Doubles team of Leach, Pugh deflects criticism, but Gorman is mum on their Davis Cup future.

OK, so maybe the most difficult part of Tom Gorman’s job as captain of the U.S. Davis Cup was thumbing through his phone book and finding four players who wanted to play in the opening round against Mexico.

And, all right, normally the satisfaction of beating an outmanned Mexican team with victories in their first three matches of the best-of-five event would be akin to Mike Tyson’s delight in knocking out Pee Wee Herman.

But the best fulfillment of all, Gorman said Saturday, was the silence that encompassed the La Costa Resort Hotel and Spa.

All of a sudden, no one really cared if John McEnroe’s ego refuses to let him play in the opening round of any Davis Cup tournament.

Or that Andre Agassi’s bruised feelings kept him at home in Las Vegas rather than spending a weekend at La Costa.

Or that Michael Chang was sitting home with a separated bone in his hip, and Aaron Krickstein was out with a pulled groin.

“People can say what they want about this team,” Gorman shrugged, “but I was fortunate enough to have such a number of players to choose from.

“I just would have kept on calling. Who knows, people might have been looking at Patrick McEnroe-Jim Grabb.”

It didn’t really matter to Gorman what people were saying about his first-round team. Call them a scout squad. Call them a replacement team. Call them a bunch of rejects.

But he was confident his boys were going to do all right, and anyone who suggests that this was a no-win situation, let Gorman remind you of what happened in 1986 when a cocky U.S. team found itself being knocked out of the tournament by Paraguay, of all teams.

“After that, everything’s been up,” Gorman said, emitting a nervous laugh.

Gorman, picking singles players whom he had previously shunned when he selected his first-round team, and a doubles team that had never played in a Davis Cup, watched in complete contentment Saturday as Rick Leach and Jim Pugh knocked off Leonardo Lavalle and Jorge Lozano, 6-4, 6-7 (7-4), 7-5, 6-1, for the clinching victory.

Oh, they’ll play two more singles matches today, but nothing remains at stake.

The only suspense left is who Gorman will pick to play for the U.S. in the second-round match against Czechoslovakia March 30-April 1.

Any hints?

“Well, nobody said they’re not available,” Gorman said.

Certainly, Leach and Pugh are offering their services, still annoyed that the incumbent U.S. Davis Cup team of Ken Flach and Robert Seguso would suggest that they’re an inferior doubles team, even ridiculing them for their defeat in the Australian Open.

“There was a lot of pressure, sure,” Pugh said, “because we read and heard how they said we didn’t belong here. Well, I think we did all right. The fourth set proved that.”

Said Leach: “We knew the pressure we were up against, and we came through. That’s what really made it rewarding.”

Gorman was hammered from all directions, in virtually every imaginable way, with reporters asking just who would be his doubles team in Czechoslovakia.

He refused to provide even the slightest hint.

“Sure, it’d be easier to have four players play straight through,” Gorman said, “but we don’t. I have 11 players to choose from, and I think that works out best for everybody.”

Said Pugh: “Of course, that all depends who’s being selected, doesn’t it?”