Americans Get Rowdy Opener

Austrian Thomas Muster said conditions were life-threatening in a Davis Cup match last month in Brazil.

The Americans will have a chance to see for themselves after being paired against Brazil in Tuesday’s 1997 Davis Cup draw.

For the United States, which has won the Davis Cup a record 31 times, Brazil should be easily swept aside. The Americans have six players in the world’s top 15--and 13 Americans are ranked ahead of Brazil’s top player, No. 105 Gustavo Kuerten.

But not so fast.

Hardly country has a bigger homecourt advantage than Brazil.

Muster was so intimidated last month in a Davis Cup match in Sao Paulo--by chants and taunts and a fan trying to blind him with sunglasses--that he stormed off the court, leading Austria to default the match.

In a hearing Monday, the Davis Cup Committee sided with Brazil and said Muster had overreacted to the zealous crowd. Several years ago, Brazilian fans also were at the center of the storm in matches against Italy and Germany.

The United States may have the world’s best players, but they don’t always play in the Davis Cup. Last year, the Americans were knocked out in the second round by the Czech Republic when MaliVai Washington and Todd Martin stumbled without Pete Sampras, Michael Chang, Andre Agassi or Jim Courier, all of whom declined to play.

In the other seven first-round match-ups from Tuesday’s World Group draw: the Netherlands plays at Romania, France at Australia, India at the Czech Republic, Mexico at Italy, Germany at Spain, Russia at South Africa, and Switzerland at Sweden.

In this year’s final, France plays Sweden Nov. 29-Dec. 1 at Malmo, Sweden.