Tarango’s Davis Cup Dreams Evaporate on Eve of Event

Jeff Tarango thought he would use this week’s Battle of the Beaches tournament at the Palisades Tennis Club as a tuneup for his first Davis Cup appearance. But Tarango said his plans changed last week when Davis Cup captain Tom Gullikson told him he was being replaced on the team by Jim Courier.

“I thought I was deserving,” Tarango said. “I thought it was perfect timing for me with Pete [Sampras] and Andre [Agassi] not playing. Gullikson told me I was experienced in big matches and that I was on the team.”

Gullikson, who could not be reached for comment, also chose Martin (No. 27 on the ATP computer rankings), Gambill (No. 50) and Justin Gimelstob (No. 97). Tarango said he was most perturbed by the choice of Gimelstob, a 21-year-old who has played on the tour only two years.

“That Gimelstob thing is an absolute insult,” Tarango said. “How many big matches has he won? I’ve been sluggish the last month, but something like the Davis Cup would have gotten my game going.”

Now, Tarango said the Battle of the Beaches will have to suffice.

“I don’t have anything else to play for,” Tarango said. “I’m sure as hell going to try and win it. I know I have zero chance of winning the golf tournament [on Thursday].”

Tarango plays Long Beach’s Pat Crow at 6 tonight in the first round, but his mind will undoubtedly be elsewhere. Since turning professional in 1989 after three years at Stanford, Tarango said he has longed for an opportunity to play for his country.

“Ever since I’ve played junior Davis Cup, I’ve wanted to play Davis Cup,” he said. “I’ve been watching Sampras, Agassi and Courier for years. I’ve always been one or two spots away from making the team. But it seems like I’m sitting in the passport line all day long.”

But his chances of playing in the U.S. semifinal match against Italy in Milwaukee, Sept. 25-27 looked better than ever. Sampras, Agassi and Chang weren’t playing and Courier was sidelined with dead-arm syndrome. The only Americans left with higher rankings--before Courier decided he was fit to play--were Todd Martin, Vincent Spadea and Jan-Michael Gambill.

“Gully told me I was on the team,” said Tarango, ranked 73rd on the ATP computer. “Then, three days later Gully called and said Courier was replacing me. I thought Courier was retired.”

Tarango, 29, has never been afraid to speak his mind, on or off the court. He made headlines at Wimbledon in 1995 when he was defaulted after walking off a court during a third-round singles match. During the match, Tarango made several serious accusations against chair umpire Bruno Rebeuh, including calling Rebeuh “corrupt.”

Tarango, who grew up and still lives in Manhattan Beach, was suspended from two Grand Slam tournaments and fined $43,756. Although Tarango apologized for his outburst, he still doesn’t regret what he did.

“I just wanted [Rebeuh] to be exposed for what he was doing,” Tarango said. “For Gustavo Kuerten, the most docile human being in the world, to throw his racket at [Rebeuh], that should tell you something about him.”

Since his infamous Wimbledon blow-up, Tarango has kept his mouth shut for the most part and let his tennis do the talking. At the end of 1997, Tarango’s ranking was up to 49, just seven spots from his career high.

“I’m still playing at the same level, or better, that I’ve been at for the last 10 years,” he said.

But Tarango admits his straight-set loss to Martin in the first round of the U.S. Open might have cost him a berth on the Davis Cup team.

“That kind of blew my wad,” he said. “That was my challenge match. I didn’t expect Todd to play that well. I had it on my racket.”

Rather than sit around and continue to stew about the Davis Cup, Tarango has decided to play in the Battle of the Beaches for a second consecutive year. Last year, he lost to Ronald Agenor in the final.

“Everybody keeps talking about the quality of American tennis being so bad, but nobody’s doing anything about it,” Tarango said. “Southern California is one of the hotbeds of tennis, so I wanted to support the local tournaments that they have.”

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Tennis Tournament at a Glance

* What: Battle of the Beaches tennis tournament

* When: Today through Sunday

* Where: Palisades Tennis Club, Newport Beach

* How much: Free

* The players (in order of seedings): Jeff Tarango, Mats Wilander, Karel Novacek, Ronald Agenor, Michael Joyce, Joakin Nystrom, Jim Pugh and James Blake.

* Notes: The total prize money is $20,000. First place is worth $5,000, second place is $2,500. The tournament is being sponsored by the Emulex Corp. for the second consecutive year. The 16 singles players will be grouped into four divisions. The winners of each division will play in Saturday’s semifinals at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. The singles finals will be held at 1 p.m. Sunday. The doubles semifinals are scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Saturday. The doubles finals will start at 3 p.m. Sunday . . . Corona del Mar senior Sameer Chopra and former UC Irvine and USC star Brett Hansen advanced out of the qualifying into the main draw.

* Information: (949) 553-8192.