U.S. Stars Want Davis Cup to Change

Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi are not sure if they will play Davis Cup next year.

In a sign of where this event probably ranks on their list of priorities, neither has spent much time thinking about it.

“It hasn’t been on my mind yet,” Agassi said.

“I don’t know,” Sampras said. “I’ll probably decide after this event and try to finalize my schedule.”

Both players, in Lisbon for the season-ending Masters Cup that begins today, were surprised John McEnroe quit as U.S. captain a week ago. Like McEnroe, they would prefer a Davis Cup format that would better accommodate player schedules and spur fan interest.

The U.S. Tennis Assn. said McEnroe’s decision after 14 months on the job entailed more than not having his two best players available for every series.

“I was as surprised as anyone else to hear that he decided to resign,” said Sampras, adding he was unsure of McEnroe’s reasons. “He brought a lot to the Davis Cup experience.”

Sampras would like to see the Davis Cup compressed into one week, like golf’s Ryder Cup.

“If you look at the schedule, it’s hard to follow for the people in the United States, playing in different countries at different times of the year,” he said. “I always believed in having a format a little bit more simplified, like the Ryder Cup, everyone can focus the attention on it.

“Tennis is competing with so many other sports. Davis Cup is a great event if it was put together properly.”

The resignation of McEnroe came nearly four months after the U.S. team was swept in Spain in the semifinals. Sampras and Agassi skipped that series on clay because of injuries. McEnroe put together a makeshift team that failed to win a match in three days.

“As captain you have to play with the players you have and support them,” Sampras said. “If Andre and I aren’t there, he has to support the guys that are there.”

Agassi said he was “very surprised” by McEnroe’s resignation and called it “a step backward for the Davis Cup.”

He said the Davis Cup is the “last thing” people in the United States can understand.

He proposed having the World Group reduced from 16 nations to eight and having that group play every two years while the qualifying process went on every year.

The smaller group of nations could then contest the title every two years in the country of the defending champion.