Davis Cup Would Be a Thrill for Gambill

Finally, there is a U.S. tennis player happy about going to Milwaukee in September.

Actually, it has nothing to do with the city itself. But the way the top U.S. players were ducking Davis Cup duty, it was enough to give Wisconsin something of an inferiority complex.

Jan-Michael Gambill helped soothe any hurt feelings on Friday, saying there was “a 99% chance” that he will play for the Americans against Italy in the Davis Cup semifinals Sept. 25-27 at Milwaukee.

Gambill defeated Magnus Norman of Sweden in the second round of the U.S. Open, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7 (8-6), 6-3. After recording the best Grand Slam result of his short career, Gambill, 21, said he wanted to leave the official Davis Cup announcement to U.S. captain Tom Gullikson.

“I’m not going to say until Gully comes and tells you guys that,” Gambill said. “I’m pretty excited to go out there and play for my country. It is something I’ve always dreamed of doing. Doing well at the U.S. Open and playing Davis Cup have been two of my dreams growing up, so I might be able to fulfill both those in one year.”

Gambill is getting there on both fronts. He will play 10th-seeded Carlos Moya in the third round and is still in the mixed doubles with Lindsay Davenport. He is still largely unknown to the general population, though.

“I am no Agassi yet,” he said, smiling. “I can still mingle freely most of the time. It is just big results. Andre has the flashy smile and big results. That is what gets it for him I think.”

Agassi, angry about how the site selection process works for Davis Cup, won’t be in Milwaukee. Nor will Chang, Pete Sampras or Jim Courier. Gambill will join Todd Martin and another player to be determined.

“It’s a huge opportunity,” Gambill said. “It’s not going to be awkward because I have done the first two ties as a hitting partner. I feel I know the experience pretty well. It is different to play as a Davis Cup player than to play in a normal event. But I am ready for it.”

Even Gambill could not have predicted his swift ascension into the spotlight.

“I would be probably a little surprised,” said Gambill, who was ranked 176th at the end of 1997. “It has all happened pretty fast, and I have come a long way. So it feels great.”

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A huge contingent of Spanish men dwindled to two--Moya defeated Michael Chang on Friday night and seventh-seeded Alex Corretja defeated qualifier Jean-Baptiste Perlant of France, 6-4, 5-7, 6-7 (10-8), 6-1, 6-0, in the second round.

Moya, the French Open champion, survived three match points in his 3-6, 1-6, 7-6 [7-5], 6-4, 6-3 second-round victory. The match lasted 3 hours 49 minutes, and marked the first time Moya had ever rallied from a two-sets-to-none deficit.

“At that moment, you think everything is lost,” Moya said of the three match points. “But you have to keep fighting. I took more risks than I was doing. My only chance was to take more risks.”

Moya watched a backhand return from Change fly long on his second match point, and dropped to his knees on the court.

“I’m not quite able to explain why I could not grab those few key points,” said Chang, who was 0 for 9 on break points in the fifth set.

Corretja, who defeated Agassi to win at Indianapolis last month, took a different route than some of his countrymen, trying to adjust to the hard courts.

“I spent a lot of time just losing in the first rounds instead of going to summer clay-court events in Europe,” he said. “I remember one year losing seven or eight first rounds in a row. So it was a tough situation. But I was learning at the time. Now everything haspaid off. I think it was worth it.”