It’s Agassi Who Restores Court Order

Quite frankly, the Jiri Novak bandwagon was getting kind of crowded.

Novak, the Czech Republic’s hero in Ostrava against Great Britain, was threatening to steal another Davis Cup round for the second time in two months.

In two days at the Great Western Forum, he defeated the No. 2 player in the world, Pete Sampras, and the No. 1 doubles team, Jared Palmer and Alex O’Brien.

On Day 3, Andre Agassi sized up the interloper and summarily dismissed him, taking him apart bit by bit, stroke by stroke, defeating Novak, 6-3, 6-3, 6-1. It halted the Novak Express, and more important, kept the U.S. alive in this quarterfinal, leveling it at 2-2.

“If anything, I had an added motivation,” Agassi said. “The thought of Jiri Novak coming in here and winning in our backyard, three points against me and Pete and the doubles . . . I just didn’t want that to happen.”

Agassi is protective of his Davis Cup singles record. He wins and manages to make everyone else look good in the process, often setting the stage for his teammates. Agassi has won 21 of his last 22 Davis Cup matches, losing only to Yevgeny Kafelnikov of Russia in April 1998. He is 4-1 in matches when the U.S. faced elimination.

This is the second time this year that Agassi, the keeper of the Davis Cup flame, has kept the United States afloat on the final day. In Zimbabwe, he defeated Byron Black to make it 2-2, creating the opportunity for Chris Woodruff’s heroics. But after that match he was so sick and dehydrated he had to watch Woodruff’s effort from his hotel room.

This time, he finished off Novak with a service winner and celebrated with his traditional bow and blown kiss to each corner, punctuating it with a flamboyant pumped fist.

“He brings such an intensity and energy to the team and he was very, very focused,” U.S. captain John McEnroe said. “That’s why he’s such a great team player.”

Sunday, Agassi was fiery, feisty and focused--take your pick.

He was asked about the big-match atmosphere and the Laker girls.

“We had the Laker girls out there?” Agassi said. “I didn’t see anything. I didn’t hear anything. I see nothing, I hear nothing. I know nothing.”

Novak did his best to stay with Agassi through the first two sets, which featured quality shot-making from both sides. Agassi wore him down with persistence and power, and the third set was a quick one, only 21 minutes.

“It was tough all the way through till the third,” Agassi said. “In the third, he really got kind of lackadaisical there and allowed me to get up a quick break without doing anything special.

“But that’s a result of being a little discouraged and being worn down. I don’t know how much of it was physical or mental, but I felt that was kind of the only weakness he showed as far as breaking down. It was good tennis, up until then.”

Said Novak: “It’s tough to say, but he was much better than me from the beginning of the match. I was running all the time. To the right and to the left. Maybe after the first and second set.”

In all, Novak played nine sets. He did not think too much tennis hurt him against Agassi, shrugging: “Andre was supposed to win today anyway.”

It’s one thing to win three matches against Great Britain, quite another against the United States. Still, Novak got closer than anyone could have expected.

“Jiri Novak proved he can beat anybody, but not in three days,” Czech captain Jan Kukal said. “I think if he would beat the No. 1 and No. 2 players, and No. 1 doubles team in the world, he would go down in history.”

Match 4

Andre Agassi d. Jiri Novak, 6-3, 6-2, 6-1