Davis Cup Pulse Beats Furiously in Rest of World

If you look at the Italy-United States semifinal as an example of what the Davis Cup has become, then the historic competition appears to be obsolete.

This semifinal, at times, had the feel of tennis day at the local armory. The small but passionate gathering tried its best to boost the sagging American spirits. But the second string looked out of sorts in the second-rate facility. (Maybe Andre Agassi was on to something when he originally criticized the site choice).

That said, the American Davis Cup experience is not a fair representation of the global view. Former U.S. Davis Cup captain Tom Gorman pointed out that Davis Cup is thriving in almost every other country except the United States, although Australia is going through rare turmoil right now.

The Italian journalists outnumbered the Americans by nearly two to one in Milwaukee. There was a palpable buzz among them after the first day when Italy took a 2-0 lead. The last time Italy won the Davis Cup was in 1976 against Chile.

Davis Cup success can give tennis a tremendous boost in most countries. A prime example was Zimbabwe’s shocking victory against host Australia in the first round earlier this year. Byron and Wayne Black, who played their collegiate tennis at USC, noticed a significant increase in interest when they returned home to Zimbabwe after the tie.

This weekend in Sweden against Spain, former Davis Cup players Bjorn Borg, Anders Jarryd and Joakim Nystrom all attended the semifinal. Even three players who were not picked to represent Sweden were there on the sideline.

“Comparing Sweden and the United States is a big difference,” said Jonas Bjorkman, who played first singles for the Swedes. “There are so many more sports in the United States--even if I can’t see how you can get into baseball. You’ve got baseball, basketball, ice hockey. They get all the TV coverage.”

You certainly would not expect to see Pete Sampras, Agassi or Michael Chang at a Davis Cup match if they weren’t playing.

Gimelstob mentioned that some of his friends among the tour players had called to wish him good luck. Martin said that only one of the other American Davis Cup players phoned him before the Italy match.

“Richey [Reneberg] called me,” he said.

So did U.S. Open champion Lindsay Davenport, who left a good-luck message. And that was it.

“I am not upset about those big players like Sampras [not calling], I can’t control who he calls on the telephone,” U.S. Davis Cup captain Tom Gullikson said.

COURIER DISARMED

The most experienced player for the United States, Jim Courier, sat in the stands the first two days of the tie. Courier, once the No. 1 player in the world, won the French Open twice and the Australian Open twice.

He has not played a tour event since losing in the first round at Cincinnati in early August, suffering another episode of the “dead-arm syndrome.”

Immediately after the United States fell behind, 2-0, on Friday, Gullikson was asked whether he would go with the experienced Courier in the doubles. Gullikson interpreted that as second-guessing and said he would not.

Failing to use Courier was a difficult decision. Gullikson had no way of knowing that Jan-Michael Gambill would look like a deer caught in the headlights and lose his composure Friday.

Courier accepted the reasoning but seemed upset with the decision. Lack of match play or not, there is a good chance he would have performed with more resolve than Gambill did against Andrea Gaudenzi.

As for Courier’s future, you might say it is match to match because of his sore arm.

“There’s nothing I can tell you that I don’t know either,” Courier said. “I hit the ball awfully hard. I string my rackets awfully tight. I don’t think the human arm is designed to do what I’m asking it to do.

“It’s a controlled situation. I have to realize I can’t go out and practice like I used to and expect my arm to hold up. I have to pick my battles.”

He remains baffled by the ailment, which recurred in August at Toronto.

“I’ve done all the medical tests and they don’t see anything wrong with my arm,” Courier said.

And on those rumors of his imminent retirement . . .

“I got some calls on that one,” Courier said. “You guys can retire me if you want, but I’m still out playing.”

QUOTE, UNQUOTE

“I didn’t have to pick up nearly as many balls this week. The guys showed me a little more respect, not much. I’m still the brunt of most of the jokes,” said American Justin Gimelstob, on being elevated from practice-partner status.

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“We are playing tennis, we are in a wonderful life, we are privileged. Sometimes it is not correct to say that you are sad because you lose,” said Spaniard Felix Mantilla.

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“I don’t think I’ll ever be over it completely. If you just forget about things, you really don’t learn a lot about it. I’m still bitter about that match. It’s going to be in my mind,” Gambill, the day before he lost to Gaudenzi at the Davis Cup, talking about his match against Carlos Moya at the U.S. Open.