Payout Considered to Avoid Trouble in Doubles

Perhaps mindful of the United States’ dodgy Davis Cup record in doubles, the president of the U.S. Tennis Assn. on Wednesday mulled the idea of offering money for American players to form doubles teams.

Harry Marmion--speaking at a news conference and discussing this weekend’s U.S.-Netherlands second-round Davis Cup play at Palisades Tennis Club in Newport Beach--said he would discuss with U.S. captain Tom Gullikson the possibility of setting aside money to encourage American doubles teams.

“I would like to sit down with Tom and see if there’s something we can do to get American players to play together,” he said. “Make some kind of mini-financial commitment to doubles team if they will play together, and even have Tom be able to put a certain amount of money on the table for players to play together.”

Doubles is a traditional weak point for U.S. teams that otherwise have a sterling Davis Cup record. The United States has produced many of the world’s best singles players, but most of them choose not to play doubles or pick doubles partners at random for certain tournaments.

“One of our biggest problems since I’ve been captain is, a lot of our top American doubles players play [doubles] with foreign players,” Gullikson said.

That leaves him to put together a Davis Cup doubles team with unfamiliar partners.

Oddly enough, this will be one Davis Cup match in which the Americans have a solid doubles team. Rick Leach and Jonathan Stark are ranked No. 4 in the world as a team on the ATP Tour.

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The Davis Cup’s first official event, the draw, takes place at 12:15 p.m. today at Fashion Island’s Atrium Park Lawn in front of Bloomingdale’s in Newport Beach.

The No. 1 singles player from each team will play the other team’s No. 2 player on Friday, the doubles teams play Saturday, and the No. 1 and No. 2 singles players match up Sunday. Today’s draw determines which match is played first on Friday.

Neither team had to divulge which players would play singles and which would play doubles until today, and the Netherlands has kept its plan secret. The hunch is that coach Stan Franker will use Paul Haarhuis and Jan Siemerink in singles, and Sjeng Schalken and Jacco Eltingh in doubles, although Haarhuis and Eltingh normally play as a doubles team and are ranked sixth in the world.

Gullikson has no secrets. Andre Agassi and Jim Courier will play singles, Leach and Stark doubles.

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There are about 150 single-day tickets available for each day of the Davis Cup. They can be bought at the club or through Ticketmaster at (714) 740-2000 or (213) 480-3232.

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The newly resurfaced courts at Palisades Tennis Club have received the approval of the players, who have been practicing there since Monday.

The host team gets to choose the playing surface, and the slow hardcourt surface here favors the Americans.

If the United States wins this weekend, it will play host to the winner of the Czech Republic-Australia match in the semifinals, Sept. 19-21.

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Courtside signs and construction of the bleachers, press facility and international hospitality areas are complete. Vendor tents and concession areas were expected to be completed Wednesday afternoon.

The setting will be intimate in the club formerly known as the John Wayne Tennis Club.

“It was quite an undertaking to take a facility with limited space and turn it into a 5,300-seat arena,” said promoter Russ Cline, staging his eighth Davis Cup. “The facility is outstanding, but it’s been designed for people to play tennis. We’ve had to do a number of things to make this event happen.”

One of the intriguing things about the seating is that the stands were built around a permanent statue of a tennis player.

“It’s an odd thing,” Cline said. “There’s one little finger sticking out of the stands. We had to kill that seat.”

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Gates open 1 1/2 hours before the matches begin. Friday’s matches begin at 11 a.m., Saturday’s at noon, and Sunday’s at 11 a.m.

Saturday’s match was originally scheduled for 1 p.m., and some tickets went out listing that time.

The change was made to accommodate international television.

A reminder: Sunday is the first day of daylight saving time.

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Fans are advised to arrive early because parking could be a problem. Although it’s available in the areas surrounding the club, there are no shuttles.

“There’s free parking available, but there’s no transportation, so there will be a 10-minute walk,” Cline said.

Unlike at most tennis matches, cheering between points is encouraged.

“There are about 100 Dutch fans who are going to be here, and I guarantee you they’ll sound like a thousand because they approach it like a soccer match,” Cline said. “They will cheer and stomp and do everything they can to rattle our players. U.S. fans should bring their flags, come excited and [be] ready to cheer.”

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The Davis Cup, which has been contested annually since 1946, began in 1900. The United States won the first two competitions, defeating the British Isles in 1900 and 1902.

The U.S. team lost in 1903 to the British, who went on to win the next three years.

The United States has won the Davis Cup 31 times, more than any other nation, and has finished second 27 times.

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Davis Cup

Facts

* What: Second round, world group.

* When: Friday-Sunday.

* Where: Palisades Tennis Club, Newport Beach.

* Opponents: U.S. vs. Netherlands.

* Teams: U.S.--Jim Courier and Andre Agassi in singles, Jonathan Stark and Rick Leach in doubles. Netherlands--Jacco Eltingh, Paul Haarhuis, Sjeng Schalken and Jan Siemerink.

* Next round: First team to win three matches advances to the semifinals Sept. 19-21.

* Format: Best of five. Two singles matches each Friday and Sunday, one doubles match Saturday. Matches will be played Sunday even if the outcome is decided.

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Times staff writer Bob Rohwer contributed to this report.