Team Captaincy a Hand-Me-Down

Mac the elder will be succeeded by Mac the younger.

Patrick McEnroe will be named Davis Cup captain today by the United States Tennis Assn., following in the footsteps of his older brother, John McEnroe.

John McEnroe’s 14-month tenure as captain was marked by McEnroe-typical turmoil and angst, hitting a high point in an emotional victory at Zimbabwe in February and plummeting with a 5-0 loss to Spain on clay in July in the semifinals.

The Patrick McEnroe era probably will feature a lot less sound and fury. He was the first candidate considered by USTA officials.

Brad Gilbert, the longtime coach of Andre Agassi, also was interviewed, in Las Vegas last month. Other potential successors included Paul Annacone, Todd Martin and Mal Washington.

Patrick McEnroe, 34, is a tennis commentator for ESPN and CBS. As a tour player, he won one title and reached three other finals. In 1991, he made the semifinals of the Australian Open and reached the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open four years later.

He played for the U.S. Davis Cup team in 1993, 1994 and 1996.

He will make his debut as captain in February, against Switzerland in Basel. And it will be without Pete Sampras, unless Sampras has an abrupt change of philosophy. Sampras, who appeared in only one of the three U.S. Davis Cup rounds this year, said in a post-match interview at the Tennis Cup in Lisbon last month that he did not plan to participate in 2001, citing the Davis Cup schedule as the primary reason.

“Until the format changes, I don’t see myself playing,” Sampras said.

” . . . I’ve always felt like the format in Davis Cup is the worst thing for the players [too many weeks out of the season every year]. It’s outdated. It was established a hundred years ago. To have it the way it is today, for me, at this point in my career, it’s something I don’t plan on being a part of it until it changes.”

To him, it doesn’t matter whether it’s John McEnroe, Patrick McEnroe or anyone else as captain.

“No it wasn’t any effect. I don’t play for the captain,” he said. “I play because of what I want to do. You know, it’s a tough schedule. I’ve always felt that the format in Davis Cup should change. Until it does, I won’t play.”

Agassi, too, has problems with the format. But he has been noncommittal about his 2001 plans.