PATRIOT GAMES

By LISA DILLMAN

April 7, 2000 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

There would be no high-powered, celebrity-laden tennis gathering at the Great Western Forum this weekend if there hadn’t first been an evolution in Zimbabwe two months ago in the first round of Davis Cup play.

U.S. captain John McEnroe was stumbling around the learning curve. His team was falling and couldn’t get back on its feet.

McEnroe not only had to motivate his players, he had to turn into Mr. Positive, not an easy transformation.

“We definitely saw him evolve,” Alex O’Brien said. “From the first day to the second day was a completely different story. He came in and said, ‘Look guys, I know I wasn’t as strong as I should have been. We’re here to kick these guys’ butts. And let’s get it going.’ He was energized. He said, ‘This is Davis Cup. Let’s put it on the line.’ ”

On the final day, the United States rallied, winning the final two singles matches. And now, it will host the Czech Republic in the quarterfinals, starting today.

Thursday’s draw at the Forum, done by legend Jack Kramer, revealed that Pete Sampras will open against Jiri Novak, followed by Andre Agassi against Slava Dosedel. Saturday’s doubles features O’Brien and Jared Palmer against Novak and David Rikl, though the lineup can be changed until one hour before the match.

The off-court highlight in Harare, Zimbabwe’s capital, was an amusing dancing clown. Here, there will be star power of a higher magnitude. Among the expected celebrities are Julia Roberts, Benjamin Bratt, Robert Redford and Carlos Santana, according to officials.

Stars were in short supply for the previous round, as McEnroe acknowledged the close call in Harare.

“There’s no question,” he said. “If I start seeing naked guys start dancing again, then I’ll start worrying.”

Sampras, who moved back to Southern California last year from Florida, leaned over and chimed in, “This is L.A., though.”

McEnroe: “Good point, we may [see some].”

This is the second time in Davis Cup history that the Nos. 1 and 2 singles players, Agassi and Sampras, and the Nos. 1 and 2 doubles players, Palmer and O’Brien, have been on the same team. In the 1984 semifinals against Australia, McEnroe, who played singles and doubles, Jimmy Connors and Peter Fleming all were ranked No. 1 or 2.

Sampras played doubles in the quarterfinals against Australia in July, but this will be his first Davis Cup singles match since the 1997 final in Sweden. This is also the first time Agassi and Sampras have been on the same team since 1995.

Sampras was injured in the 1997 final and defaulted in the third set of his first match in Sweden. He was supposed to travel to Zimbabwe in February but withdrew because of a hip injury suffered in a semifinal loss to Agassi in the Australian Open.

“I have had some injuries over the past six months, and for some reason I have gotten hurt at Davis Cup,” Sampras said. “I don’t know why. But I feel good and this week I haven’t felt any extra pains.”

Said Czech captain Jan Kukal: “We are playing the best, I think, the best team that ever played. Agassi and Sampras are not only No. 1 and 2 player in the world at the moment, but I think they are the best players that ever played.”

As for Kukal’s team, Novak is ranked 39th and Dosedel 48th in the ATP’s Entry System, and Novak and Rikl are an experienced unit, although they have lost twice to O’Brien and Palmer this year.

The Czechs got to Los Angeles by defeating visiting Great Britain, 4-1, in the first round on clay in Ostrava. Novak won all three of his matches.

“The strengths are, they’re unpredictable,” McEnroe said. “The fans out there don’t know them and they’re dangerous. They have a lazy style, what appears to be less than 100% intensity.”

In one sense, this could be viewed as the best possible draw for the United States, with Sampras starting, especially if Agassi’s ankle is not 100%.

Kukal, naturally, looked at it another way.

“I’m happy with this draw because all the pressure, it’s on our No. 1 player [Novak], who was playing very well also in Key Biscayne where he beat Alex Corretja,” he said. “So we wanted him to play first match because for sure he’s going to play in doubles.”

Agassi, who suffered a sprained right ankle last week at the Ericsson Open, has been practicing all week with it taped for support.

“It’s stable, which is really all I was hoping for by this point,” he said. “I have to tape it pretty mildly, and I feel pretty secure on it. So while it’s not great--because I have to think about it to some degree--it’s in plenty good enough position to go out there and not worry too much about it.”

Joked Dosedel, “I’ll make a few phone calls tonight, so he won’t sleep that well.”

Tennis Notes

In another Davis Cup quarterfinal, Australia took a 1-0 lead over Germany today as Lleyton Hewitt beat Michael Kohlmann, 6-1, 6-1, 6-2. In the second match, Australia’s Wayne Arthurs faced Germany’s David Prinosil.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Davis Cup

U.S. vs CZECH REPUBLIC

Great Western Forum

Today

Pete Sampras vs. Jiri Novak

Andre Agassi vs. Slava Dosedel

Saturday Doubles

Alex O’Brien/Jared Palmer vs. Novak/David Riki

Sunday*

Agassi vs. Novak

Sampras vs. Dosedel