A Grass Act Is in Store

The search for a suitable grass court has taken Patrick McEnroe from Houston to Phoenix to Southern California, leaving no blade unturned for the upcoming Davis Cup quarterfinal against Spain.

On Thursday, McEnroe, the U.S. Davis Cup captain, was at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage and said it was “one of the best grass courts I’ve hit on.” Previously, he and other USTA officials were at PGA West in La Quinta, Desert Highlands Tennis Club in Scottsdale, Ariz., and Westside Tennis Club in Houston, which is also the site of the U.S. Clay Court Championships in late April.

This fast-paced tour has been necessary because the deadline for site and surface selection for the quarterfinal is next week. The U.S.-Spain quarterfinal is scheduled for April 5-7. The original deadline was Monday, but USTA officials received an extension until Wednesday. If necessary, another extension could be granted, but McEnroe wants to make a decision.

The last time the Davis Cup was in Southern California was in April 2000. Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi played for McEnroe’s older brother, John, at the Forum in a 3-2 victory against the Czech Republic. Usually, the USTA prefers to move the matches around the country, and its executives also are aware of the scheduling proximity to the men’s and women’s event at Indian Wells, which starts in less than two weeks.

Grass, however, limits the options in April.

“At the moment, Houston is the front-runner, unless something changes in the next couple of days,” Patrick McEnroe said Thursday. “It’s a nice setup. I certainly feel that would be the best spot for this particular match. Again, once we get the set of proposals in writing, we’ll have to see what people say.”

McEnroe’s presence on the site inspection trips is an indication of his interest and commitment. For the first-round match in Oklahoma City, he went through two days of media appearances around the state. This time, he is checking out the court surfaces first-hand, playing on the different grass courts.

Seating limitations are working against the sites in Southern California. One scenario would have the team playing its matches at PGA West but practicing and staying nearby at the La Quinta Resort & Club, McEnroe said. Houston is already set up with preparations for its upcoming clay-court event.

“It’s just a question of how many seats we can put in it,” he said. “I think we should be able to sell 7,000 to 9,000 seats. Some of the places we went to could only put in 4,000 or 5,000. Mission Hills ... I just don’t know if we could get as many seats in there as we’d really like to.

“The big decision will have to come in the next couple of days.”

The situation was reversed the last time the United States played Spain, in the Davis Cup semifinals in 2000. It was in Spain, and on a clay court, of course. Spain won, 5-0, and afterward, John McEnroe said he felt like “throwing up.” It was his last match as captain.

And now, it could be Spain’s turn to play on its least-favorite surface.

Youngster Juan Carlos Ferrero reached the third round at Wimbledon last year and veteran Francisco Clavet got to the fourth round in 1998. Still, Spain’s top players, Alex Corretja and Albert Costa, are infrequent visitors to the All England Club.

“We’re ready to roll,” Patrick McEnroe said. “We’re ready to give the Spaniards what they don’t want to see.”

There’s Sampras and Andy Roddick for starters. McEnroe said Sampras told him Wednesday that he had resumed hitting after a minor foot ailment at Oklahoma City.

“It was really good for Pete--good for him to be around those guys,” McEnroe said. “It certainly inspired him in practice, and he had to play well in his match, even when he wasn’t feeling 100%.”