Zimbabwe Trip a Revelation for Agassi

The room service waiter came back, almost apologetically. He was embarrassed to tell the guest that the amount paid was more than the check--$150 more.

Only it was $150 in local currency. In U.S. funds, around $4 or $5. Assured that the total was indeed intentional, the waiter still looked dubious but went on his way.

The trip here--the sights and sounds, the vast divide between rich and poor--has been a revelation for the American delegation, especially Andre Agassi, who was taking everything in with wide eyes. He was on the sideline for almost all of Saturday’s long doubles match, sitting with his coach and buddy Brad Gilbert.

Agassi doesn’t miss a thing. He moved closer to the courtside seats of captain John McEnroe and the doubles team of Rick Leach and Alex O’Brien. The tide turned and Leach and O’Brien won the second and third sets before losing in five to Wayne Black and Kevin Ullyett. Near the end of the second set, Agassi grabbed an electric fan and held it up behind Leach and O’Brien.

The old Andre--the kid of the early ‘90s--probably wouldn’t have hopped on a plane to Zimbabwe right after a Grand Slam event. The new Andre, while not thrilled with the schedule, was on a plane less than a day after his Australian Open title. He made a commitment to McEnroe, and there was no use in whining and bemoaning his tough travel schedule.

And as much as Byron and Wayne Black are the heroes of the moment, the charisma of Agassi is undeniable. At Saturday’s ceremonies, Agassi received a loud ovation, just a shade less enthusiastic than Byron Black’s.

On Friday, he offered his usual thanks, a bow and blown kiss to each corner. The crowd loved it, even though he had just taken out Wayne Black in straight sets. “I thought they were incredibly supportive,” he said. “They were a first-class crowd, receptive to good tennis and yet they were pretty supportive of Wayne.

“You know, after spending the week here in Zimbabwe, I wasn’t surprised it wasn’t hostile. They’re incredibly friendly people who are excited about tennis and supportive of their home players.”

This is not the first time Zimbabwe has produced a surprising result. In 1998, the Black brothers traveled to Australia and came home with a victory. Zimbabwe defeated Britain on the road in 1997 and beat Chile here last year to stay in the World Group.

But Byron Black has always known a match against the United States would be different, much more special than any other country. He has been playing the match in his mind for the last few months, ever since the draw for the 2000 Davis Cup was made late last year.

After his victory against Chris Woodruff in the second singles match, Black spotted an acquaintance a couple of hours later. “I told you this trip would be worth it,” he said.

Even with his team on the brink of elimination, McEnroe has realized the same thing, the potential for global impact.

“If by some chance we don’t pull it off, maybe then we will be the reason why there will be a lot of great African players in 10 years,” he said. “So we’ll look at the bright side. We’ll be an inspiration to all of Africa and we’ll really be letting the cat out of the bag.”

MEMORY LOSS

Leach was asked to relive the painful final game of the losing doubles match, and his partner, O’Brien, jumped in with an assist.

“He actually hit a good serve on that 40-15 point,” O’Brien said. “He [Ullyett] had a great return, a backhand up my line, which is the lowest percentage you can get. The next point I should have crossed, but I’ve been passed at my line so many times, I got a little--I was frozen a bit. That’s part of the reason, he [Leach] stumbled [on the volley]. I was standing there picking my nose.”

Said McEnroe, to the media: “Don’t rub it in. It’s tough enough as it is.”

He listened to Leach second-guess himself and hopped in again. “We did a great job, no question about it,” McEnroe said. “You think about things that happened 20 years ago, much less what happened five minutes ago, what you should have done at a certain point.

“I have actually tried to sort of deliberately forget things because I don’t think I would sleep more than an hour a night if I thought about all the things that I had blown or could have done better as a coach or a player.”