U.S. Team Shopping for Davis Cup Victory : Tennis: Semifinal against Sweden starts today. Sampras will play Magnus Larsson, Martin will face Edberg.

With echoes of 1992 resounding from the Gap to Ikea, the Davis Cup draw--all 35 scintillating seconds of it--was held Thursday at a sprawling shopping mall here to determine the order of play as the United States and Sweden begin semifinal matches today.

Two years ago, the same teams met at the Target Center in Minneapolis--the draw itself was held near the escalators--with equally hollow fanfare. But identical opponents in an identical setting may bode well for the U.S. team, which well remembers its 4-1 victory over Sweden in the semifinal and eventual defeat of Switzerland for the 1992 Davis Cup.

The American players will make every effort to refer to its winning season in 1992, if only to obscure the memory of last year’s first-round loss. The Davis Cup draw is the ideal memory wagon, since it carries no meaningful freight of its own.

As was the case with the American version two years before, Thursday’s draw ceremony was a triumph over both style and substance. After a warm-up period by a Swedish stand-up--a rapid-fire monologue followed by tight smiles and polite applause--the draw was conducted. The representative of an event sponsor was called forward to draw a name from a champagne bucket, to determine the order of play.

Today’s two matches, in order, are Todd Martin against Stefan Edberg and Pete Sampras against Magnus Larsson. Saturday the U.S. doubles team of Jared Palmer and Jonathan Stark will play Jonas Bjorkman and Jan Apell. Sunday’s matches are Sampras-Edberg and Martin-Larsson.

All matches are best-of-five sets and the team that wins three matches will go to the Davis Cup final.

The U.S. team will be tested by a dangerous but vulnerable Swedish team. U.S. Captain Tom Gullikson has nominated four players whose styles and temperaments are suited to the fast, high-bounce indoor carpet selected by the Swedes. Being the host carries with it the advantage of minimal travel, home crowds and the opportunity to choose the playing surface.

A captain can choose a surface that is awful for the opposing team, even if it may not be ideal for his own team. The United States did that when these teams played in the 1992 semifinal at Minneapolis. The Americans chose clay to negate the speed and aggressive net play of Edberg.

This time, Swedish captain John-Anders Sjogren has opted to play to the strengths of his No. 1 player, serve-and-volley star Edberg.

It also happens to be perfect for Sampras, who confessed Thursday that as late as a week ago he had decided not to play here after losing in the round of 16 at the U.S. Open.

“When I got done playing the Open, I went home and didn’t pick up a racket for some time,” Sampras said. “I called Tom and told him I was not available. Mentally, I was very discouraged and frustrated. Physically, my body went through a war playing (Jaime) Yzaga.

“Like I told Tom, I just didn’t have it deep down to start practicing and playing again. I thought about it the next couple of days and talked to some people. Davis Cup gets you motivated. I thought about it for a couple of days and I really got the urge to play and try to finish the year off as strong as possible.

“I guess I called (Gullikson) a few days later, maybe Friday night,” Sampras said.

“More like Saturday morning,” Gullikson said.

“It might have been late, I don’t know,” Sampras said.

“I remember looking at the digital clock and it was 2:40,” Gullikson said.

“I guess I had been thinking about it,” Sampras said.

“I had been dreaming about it,” Gullikson said, laughing.

It is every Davis Cup captain’s dream to have the No. 1 player in the world available, even if he’s not in his best shape. Sampras admitted as much at the Open and was quick to tell reporters that it was his fitness, not a sore left ankle, that had betrayed him against Yzaga.

“I’ve been working hard for a couple of weeks and my form is a lot better,” Sampras said. “I’m not going to get into a lot of long rallies here. I’m not in great shape. I’ve kind of lost my base.”

Still, Sampras gives the impression of a player willing to fight as long as he must to win. Davis Cup will do that to players.

“It’s a different type of pressure than playing in other matches,” he said. “At the majors, you are just playing for yourself. Here, you are playing for your country. You really don’t want to let anyone down. It’s different. Playing in my first tie at Lyon (France), I didn’t play well and I wasn’t prepared for the situation. I think I’ll be OK this weekend.”

If the U.S. team follows its form of 1992, he’ll be right.