U.S. Is a 4-to-2 Favorite : Davis Cup: Americans expected to have little trouble against Switzerland in finals.

Let’s see, the Davis Cup finals begin today, featuring star-crossed teams playing for the international championship of tennis.

The underdog is the team from Switzerland, which didn’t expect to be here, mainly because it has never been here. It’s a team of only two players that dumped its Davis Cup captain only six weeks ago.

Can the Swiss win? The odds are stacked against them. Czech-born Swiss Jakob Hlasek said he learned something about the role of underdog from watching a lot of Westerns.

“I was always on the Indians’ side,” Hlasek said.

The only other Swiss nominated to play is Marc Rosset, an Olympic gold-medal winner who was the man behind dumping Roland Stadler as captain in a revolt that threatened to mess up the legendary Swiss camaraderie.

Thoroughly upset, Rosset had expressed grave concern about team “ambience.”

Dimitri Sturdza replaced Stadler as Swiss captain.

Playing the role of the heavy favorite is the United States team that last glimpsed the Davis Cup trophy a year ago in Lyon, France, just as it was being carted off at the end of a Conga line in a French victory celebration.

It was a colossal upset by the French, but a victory over the United States by the undermanned Swiss would make the upset in Lyon look as small as the number of news conference appearances made this week by John McEnroe.

McEnroe, who plays doubles with Pete Sampras in Saturday’s match against Hlasek and Rosset, has refused to attend news conferences such as the one held after Thursday’s draw ceremony because he does not want to be asked about problems in his marriage with Tatum O’Neal.

U.S. captain Tom Gorman said he is convinced that McEnroe is prepared to play Saturday and that there is no chance he will substitute someone else for McEnroe.

Andre Agassi will risk his 18-4 record and a nine-match winning streak against Hlasek today in the opening match today on a hard court. Top-ranked Jim Courier will play Rosset afterward.

In Sunday’s final two matches, Courier will play Hlasek and Agassi will play Rosset. The first team to win three matches wins the Davis Cup.

For McEnroe, who has played and won more Davis Cup matches than anyone, his doubles appearance is widely regarded as probably his last in Cup play. McEnroe, 33, has hinted all year that 1992 is probably his last as a full-time player.

Agassi said it would be fitting if he and his teammates could send McEnroe out a winner.

“He’s probably going down as the greatest player of all time,” Agassi said. “It’s an exciting thought to win it and end his career with it.”

Even to neutral observers, the Swiss-U.S. matchup falls somewhat short of a great tennis rivalry. The countries have never met in Davis Cup competition.

The United States is playing in its 57th final and going for its 30th title. Switzerland is making its debut in the final.

What’s more, No. 9-ranked Agassi and No. 1-ranked Courier are far superior to the Swiss tandem of No. 35 Rosset and No. 36 Hlasek, at least according to the computer.

All this seems to indicate a fairly routine victory for the United States, although after last year’s experience in Lyon, it would probably be wise to exercise a bit of caution.

“I got to be honest, we have all experienced what the Davis Cup is like . . . like Lyon last year,” Agassi said. “It’s something you don’t take lightly.

“No question we’re the favorite, no question we should win.”

Although he is coming back from a pulled leg muscle, Agassi doesn’t see much of a problem getting off to a good start.

“For someone to beat me this weekend, they’re going to have to play the best tennis of their life and then maybe hope to get a few breaks,” he said.

Courier’s mental condition may not be as strong. After he lost to Boris Becker two weeks ago in a final at Frankfurt, Germany, Courier said he was so exhausted, he didn’t want to play singles against the Swiss.

He recovered sufficiently to allow Gorman to use him, Gorman unswayed by Courier’s 2-4 Davis Cup record.

“I was pretty much burned out,” Courier said. “I feel fine now.”

So does Sampras, who said a U.S. victory would not surprise him at all. It simply would be a matter of superior numbers--four players to two.

“It’s an advantage, a big advantage,” Sampras said. “Hopefully, Andre and Jim will wear them out a little bit and we’ll clean up shop. I know we’re the favorites here.”

And the Swiss know what their role is, too.

“We’ve had a lot of fun this year,” Hlasek said. “We never thought we would be here, so what have we got to lose?”

Davis Cup Notes

Before the draw ceremony downtown, players from both teams rode stagecoaches down Main Street to Gen. Worth Square. The captains, Dimitri Sturdza of Switzerland and Tom Gorman of the United States, were given Indian arrows made by a descendant of Quanah Parker, a legendary Comanche leader. . . . John McEnroe’s U.S. Davis Cup records include most singles matches, 49; most total matches, 68; most singles victories, 41, and most singles and doubles victories, 58.

Pete Sampras said that he and McEnroe, who played together for the first time in a victory over Stefan Edberg and Anders Jarryd of Sweden in the Davis Cup semifinals, are meshing well. “We’re playing pretty well, playing pretty good practice sets,” Sampras said. “Each day, we’re getting a little better and better.” . . . The matches will be played on a hard surface called Plexi-Court at the Tarrant County Convention Center.