U.S. Swamps Czechoslovakia : Davis Cup: Sweeps by Agassi and Sampras give Americans a 2-0 lead.

Here with the Everglades merely a couple of splashes away, as the alligator crawls, the U.S. Davis Cup team swamped Czechoslovakia on Day 1 of the quarterfinals and took a hot and humid 2-0 lead Friday almost before the suntan lotion had dried.

Right after Pete Sampras had power-drilled 17 aces in a 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Karel Novacek, Andre Agassi breathed new life into his previously moribund game with an even easier victory over Petr Korda, 6-2, 6-4, 6-1.

When it comes to Davis Cup turning points, this one occurred early. It was at the coin flip before the first match, when Novacek won the toss and chose to let Sampras serve.

Smart move? Let’s just say that the Mensa application papers remained blank.

“I was pretty startled,” Sampras said, his face brightening. “I really liked that.”

So the United States was off and running, already nearly too far ahead to catch. Sampras, who had three aces in the first set, finally got warmed up and cracked eight in the second and six more in the third.

It turned out to be domination--two matches, six sets and two blowouts--on a windless day. Sampras never faced a break point and Agassi faced only four, losing one, and was thus able to predict a peaceful night. “No question, you roll over someone in straight sets and you are gonna sleep pretty well,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Czechs will wake up this morning facing the daunting possibility of elimination in the doubles match. Coach Tomas Smid is sending Korda and Cyril Suk against Rick Leach and John McEnroe.

“Maybe it will be different,” Smid said.

If not, the Czechs will have plenty of time to catch the afternoon pontoon-boat cruise up the Caloosahatchee River.

Agassi’s victory required him to stand on the sun-baked court for 1 hour 49 minutes and watch Korda miss countless shots. Actually, someone did keep track of them. Korda made 55 unforced errors, which meant that Agassi needed to swat only 16 winners.

The best tactic was to keep the point going until Korda messed up, and Agassi followed the game plan perfectly. Agassi went up two breaks in the fourth set and at 4-1 came up with the point of the match.

Korda smashed an overhead but hit it directly at the feet of Agassi, who flicked the ball cross-court for a winner. The crowd of 5,146 at the Sonesta Sanibel Harbor Resort responded with a standing ovation.

Agassi responded by bowing from the waist, not once, but twice.

It was pure Andre, even though the bravado has been as absent from his game as victories since his well chronicled, 4-5 tailspin to start the year.

Not surprisingly, Agassi was overjoyed with himself. “That was a reflection of playing with jazz, with intensity, with fire,” he said. “It really hasn’t been there (but) when it’s there, stuff like that happens.”

Novacek never had a chance against Sampras, but at least he admitted it--and colorfully, too.

“When he is in really good mood, he might beat anybody,” Novacek said.

In his 1-hour 52-minute victory, Sampras won 81% of his first serves, won 39 points at the net, hit 39 winners and played generally like someone at peace with himself. This represented a Davis Cup first for Sampras, who lost two matches in his debut in last year’s final at Lyon, France, and won twice against Argentina in the first match this year.

“Warming up, I was anxious and my legs were a little tight, but then for the first time in Davis Cup, I really felt comfortable on the court,” Sampras said.