TENNIS ROUNDUP : U.S. Davis Cup Team Is Headed by Gilbert, Wheaton

With most of its top players either too tired or otherwise committed, the United States will begin defense of the Davis Cup with a backup squad headed by Brad Gilbert and David Wheaton in singles.

The team, which also includes the world’s top-ranked doubles team of Richey Reneberg and Jim Grabb, was selected Friday to face Australia in the first round on March 26-28. The matches will be played on grass at Kooyong Stadium in Melbourne.

Gilbert is ranked No. 24 in the world and Wheaton No. 48. Six Americans are ranked ahead of Gilbert, including Jim Courier and Pete Sampras, Nos. 1 and 2.

“It’s too much tennis for me,” Sampras said this week.

Sampras plans to play at Scottsdale, Ariz., and Indian Wells, Calif., the weeks before the matches in Australia.

Courier, No. 17-ranked MaliVai Washington, No. 7 Michael Chang, and No. 9 Ivan Lendl, who became a U.S. citizen last year, also have declined to play or were not asked. Chang is not a top grass player, and No. 8 Andre Agassi declined to commit for the early rounds.

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Sampras, seeded No. 2, rallied in the deciding tiebreaker to beat Reneberg, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (8-6), in the quarterfinals of the $700,000 U.S. Indoor tournament at Philadelphia.

Sampras will play fourth-seeded Lendl, who beat fifth-seeded Washington 7-5, 6-2.

Mark Woodforde of Australia beat third-seeded Chang, 6-3, 6-4, to advance to a semifinal against wild-card entry Derrick Rostagno, who defeated eighth-seeded Amos Mansdorf of Israel, 6-4, 6-3.

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Monica Seles and Martina Navratilova, seeded No. 1 and No. 2, advanced to the semifinals of the Paris Women’s Open.

Seles beat France’s Mary Pierce, 6-2, 6-2.

Navratilova defeated Julie Halard of France, 6-0, 6-2.

Third-seeded Conchita Martinez of Spain beat unseeded Karin Kschwendt of Germany, 6-3, 5-7, 6-3.

Jana Novotna of the Czech Republic, seeded No. 4, defeated Nathalie Tauziat of France, seeded No. 5, 7-6 (7-2), 4-6, 6-2.