U.S. Hearts Still Beating, so It’s Czech-Out Time

Pete Sampras ran around the court with the U.S. flag, and handed it to his fierce rival-turned-teammate Andre Agassi. The Lennon and McCartney of professional tennis had turned in a taut and talented performance in the first Davis Cup match played in Los Angeles since 1963.

On this day, Sampras needed Agassi. And Agassi used a little help from his friend, Sampras.

After taking the flag from Sampras, a thrilled Agassi did some running of his own, and then found his new captain, John McEnroe.

The giddy McEnroe did his turn, waving the flag. Suddenly, his plan to revive the Davis Cup was hitting all the high notes after the United States rallied for a come-from-behind 3-2 victory against the Czech Republic in the quarterfinals at the Great Western Forum on Sunday before 12,002.

On paper, it looked straightforward. Agassi had 12 aces and defeated Jiri Novak, 6-3, 6-3, 6-1, and Sampras recorded 18 aces, defeating Slava Dosedel, 6-4, 6-4, 7-6 (2). Of course, the scores didn’t quite tell the whole story.

There was McEnroe’s heart stopping “temporarily” when Sampras pulled up injured with a strained left quad at the start of the fifth and decisive match against Dosedel.

This heart-wrenching stuff is the U.S. Davis Cup team in 2000. Agassi was the one who got sick in Harare, Zimbabwe, throwing up on the court. Now, it was Sampras’ turn to struggle.

“It was the Master Plan,” Sampras said, laughing. “We just wanted John to sweat a little bit more.”

McEnroe: “Wanted me to lose some more hair.”

Sampras: “Sure, the way it worked out, it was a live match. Hopefully, a few people saw the tennis. I’m sure we would have loved to have clinched this on Saturday, but Sunday, I’m sure it was good for tennis, especially in the U.S.”

The United States has rallied from a 2-1 deficit on the final day five times, twice this year. Next is a trip to Spain for the semifinals, July 21-23. Maybe, by then, McEnroe’s pulse will have returned to normal.

In Harare, he felt as though he aged five years in one week. Here, the pressure was different. The Dream Team of American tennis was not supposed to find itself on the verge of elimination against the Czechs.

“It does give you a perspective of how tough it is to be these coaches,” McEnroe said. “It tells you how great a coach Phil Jackson is, he maintains a Zen vibe that’s amazing. These other guys live with it, like, 24 hours, I don’t know how they do it. For this week, it feels more than a week, like, ‘God, I need a break.’ Now I know why it’s spread out so pathetically over the year.”

Sampras and McEnroe, who were at odds earlier this year, almost were like a comedy act afterward. In fact, Sampras was very close to not playing in this quarterfinal after he felt McEnroe had questioned his integrity when he withdrew from the first round because of a hip injury at the Australian Open.

Now, the dispute seemed long forgotten.

“Let’s just say it is not the healthiest of occupations,” McEnroe said.

Sampras interrupted him, saying: “What are you complaining about? I mean, it’s a couple weeks of the year.”

McEnroe: “That’s what I’ve been telling him (Sampras).”

For Sampras, it was a chance for redemption. One reason he did relent and play against the Czech Republic was because it represented a rare opportunity to play in front of family and friends.

But his dream weekend turned dark after his straight-set loss to Novak in the opening singles match.

“I was pretty disappointed on Friday night, and Saturday we lost the doubles,” Sampras said. “It was time to regroup. It was time to kind of put what happened on Friday behind me and go out and play the tennis I could play and remember who I am. I didn’t want to lose two matches here and cost us the tie.”

Coverage

AGASSI IN CONTROL

Andre Agassi set the stage for the comeback by cooling off Jiri Novak.

SAMPRAS REDEMPTION

Slava Dosedel admitted he had no chance on Pete Sampras’ serve.

DIANE PUCIN

Sampras glad to have a happy family outing after a frustrating Friday.

Stories, Page 8