TENNIS ROUNDUP : Players Wait for Word on U.S. Team

John McEnroe and Pete Sampras are eager for U.S. captain Tom Gorman to decide who will play for the United States in the Davis Cup final against France in November.

Both won their opening matches Tuesday at the $2-million Paris Open, then talked about playing on the team.

“I think Tom Gorman is waiting to see how this tournament goes to make a decision among myself, Jim Courier, Brad Gilbert and McEnroe,” said Sampras, who defeated Andrei Cherkasov of the Soviet Union, 7-6 (7-3), 6-2, Tuesday.

“A lot of things have to be considered, like the fact that I have never played a Davis Cup, never a final against an opposing country,” Sampras said.

McEnroe, who beat Christian Bergstrom of Sweden, 6-1, 7-6 (7-4), said: “If I do well here, that means I have a chance, so I’m going to play 110%.”

However, McEnroe has set a deadline. “I can wait until the end of this week, but am not going to wait any longer,” he said. “I’d love to play but . . . “

Gorman said he will announce the team after the Paris Open.

Fourth-seeded Michael Stich of Germany withdrew because of an elbow injury he suffered two weeks ago at Vienna.

Markus Zoecke of Germany upset top-seeded Javier Sanchez of Spain, 7-6 (7-5), 6-2, in a $175,000 tournament at Buzios, Brazil.