U.S. Collapses Against Sweden : Tennis: Sampras defaults, Martin loses, Swedes reach Davis Cup final.

U.S. Davis Cup captain Tom Gullikson thought he was dealing with tennis’ Dream Team II; the first incarnation had won the title in 1992. He discovered he was working with damaged goods, a team as heavily favored as it was heavily bandaged.

In an unraveling the team’s trainers and doctors could not stem, the United States blew a 2-0 lead and lost to Sweden, 3-2. On Sunday, the world’s No. 1 player, Pete Sampras, defaulted to Stefan Edberg after one set because of a hamstring injury and it was left to Todd Martin to beat a player ranked 27 places below him. He could not.

Sweden, as it had here in 1984, upset the United States and won the Davis Cup semifinal. Sweden will play at Russia in the final Dec. 2-4.

It is only the third time in history that the U.S. team has lost after holding a 2-0 lead. The other losses came in 1960 and 1939.

“It was quite astonishing coming back after being two matches down,” Edberg said. “It’s incredible. I was quite skeptical on Friday, but anything can happen, and this shows it.”

The United States saw its 2-0 lead from Friday erode to 2-1 with Saturday’s doubles loss. Its mandate on Sunday was to win one of the two singles matches. Disaster struck in the form of Sampras’ hamstring injury and Edberg, who won the first set, 6-3, earned the point that evened the match.

“In retrospect, this week our guys have spent a lot more time in the trainer’s room than the tennis court,” Gullikson said.

The assignment of playing the decisive Davis Cup match seemed not to faze Martin, who had been devastating in beating Edberg on Friday. Despite his various physical troubles--knee, groin, etc.--Martin, by any logic, was expected to beat Magnus Larsson.

Such is the caprice of Davis Cup, where the No. 34 player in the world can dismantle the world’s No. 6 and make a mockery of the rankings, which pale in the face of flag and country. Larsson clinched it with only minor difficulty, 5-7, 6-2, 6-2, 6-4.

While defaults happen with some frequency on the tour, they are not common in Davis Cup. There have been only six defaults by Americans since Davis Cup began in 1900. Sunday’s was the first default that has made a difference to the outcome.

The most famous default involved Andre Agassi in the 1990 final against Australia. The United States had already clinched the title with a 3-0 lead going into the last day of singles. Agassi split sets with Darren Cahill, then announced he was injured. He was later heard to say he had faked the injury because he saw no reason to play a meaningless match.

Michael Chang won the next match and the United States won the title, 4-1.

Chang, like Agassi and so many other of the top American players, chose not to play in the Davis Cup this year. Jim Courier had been a stalwart for the U.S. team all year, but he needed a break and was not available.

“On paper, we look like we’ve got a lot of depth,” Gullikson said. “But when players start filling their schedules, it gets pretty thin.”

Had other Americans been available, Sampras might not have felt compelled to play here with such a glaring lack of fitness. U.S. Davis Cup physician George Fareed said the hamstring strain might have occurred during Friday’s four-set match against Larsson. Fareed said the muscle, which he said was slightly torn, might take a month to heal.

Sampras was in good spirits after the match, even though his hope was dashed of ending the season on a high note after disappointments.

“I can’t lift my foot or bend the leg,” he said, his foot propped up on a couch. “One thing after another. It feels like it’s kind of been an interesting year. A great year but also very frustrating.”

Sampras’ stomach has been wrecked by anti-inflammatory medication and it can’t tolerate the drugs usually prescribed for muscle strains. Nevertheless, he was given ibuprofen, a mild anti-inflammatory, during the fifth-game changeover. It was more to make the trainers feel useful than something that would offer immediate help to Sampras. His leg was bandaged a few games later, but that only further restricted his movement.

From the moment he walked on the court for warm-ups, it was clear that Sampras’ ability to move was severely compromised. He limped rather than walked at the baseline and getting to the net consisted of a series of hop-skips.

Edberg knew that it would have been acceptable for him to hit for the lines and run Sampras around, but he would have none of it. Perhaps Edberg, who defaulted out of the final of the 1990 Australian Open because of a pulled stomach muscle, had some empathy for Sampras.

“It’s not the way you like to win,” Edberg said. “I noticed in the first game that he wasn’t going full speed on his first serve. After four or five games it was getting noticeable. He made it difficult for me to play the last games. What should I do? You could see that he was not moving. It was a matter of time, really.”

Having placed his teammate in a pressure-filled position, Sampras sat glumly in the stands and watched Martin being taken apart by Larsson’s pinpoint serving. The 24-year-old Swede had 16 aces and many more service winners.

The crowd of 4,256 at the Scandinavium arena came to life late in the match, sensing impending victory. Body language told it all. Larsson walked briskly after points; Martin dragged, with his head down.

Asked if nerves had played a role in his loss, Martin shook his head.

“I was never nervous,” Martin said. “I just purely got outplayed.”

After the final point, Larsson leaped over the net and shook Martin’s hand. The Swedish team went into a mass hug and began to jump up and down while cheers rained down.

The Americans packed their rackets and liniment and gauze and limped off into the night.