New Spin Turns Agassi Around on Davis Cup

One of the leading voices in tennis was giving his reasons, in great detail, for not playing Davis Cup, citing the format of the competition.

“I don’t have it in me anymore,” he said. “I just don’t. It’s not really even this year. It’s until there’s a format that works for everybody, and you know, I’m not the kind of guy to just call out a problem without feeling like there’s solutions to it. But a lot of people need to get together to make it happen, and I’m a little skeptical if that’s going to happen. It’s just not in the cards for me.”

The speaker was Andre Agassi, the date was Jan. 15, 2001, at the Australian Open.

So what happened to lure Agassi back into the fold, four years after that speech and nearly five years after his last U.S. Davis Cup match?

Not some major shakeup. The Davis Cup format has not changed appreciably since Agassi spoke that day in Melbourne.

And others have divorced themselves from the Cup in recent weeks, including Tim Henman of Britain. Such stars as Roger Federer of Switzerland and Carlos Moya of Spain seem to be working on trial separations.

So, Agassi is going against the grain -- again.

He will be playing for the first time since the quarterfinals against the Czech Republic in 2000, returning for the first round against Croatia on March 4-6 in the Home Depot Center at Carson.

What got him to that point were many conversations with U.S. Davis Cup captain Patrick McEnroe, including a dinner in Las Vegas with McEnroe two weeks ago, and more talks with the other top American players.

That’s the shorthand version. There’s obviously more to it for the 34-year-old who has won eight Grand Slam singles titles.

“You didn’t have to twist my arm to be part of it,” Agassi said in a telephone interview with The Times last week. “I’ve always loved Davis Cup. I just could never reconcile the fact I just don’t have it to give anymore on a full basis.”

McEnroe seemed to understand, and accept, the constant juggling act for the professional player with a sizable charitable foundation and the father of two young children.

“Patrick started by saying, ‘I’m just going to challenge you to look at it a little differently. You would have my understanding and support to be a part of this any way you can,’ ” Agassi said. “ ‘Not only can you help inside the lines, but possibly even outside the lines. That’s crucial to our team.’

“For me, it was about that support and understanding from him because of the great job he’s been doing, but also from the players. I told all the boys I don’t want my participation or lack of participation to undermine everything you’ve tried to build here as a team as well as what you’re trying to accomplish.”

His availability for later rounds is unclear ... because it has to be that way. In addition to family, foundation and career, he has to deal with a sore hip, caused by a swollen nerve in his back.

“My commitment is in the context of ‘I don’t know,’ ” Agassi said. “That’s my whole problem [with] playing in the first place. It could be one. It could be more. I would love it to be more.

“The whole point of what my reasons were for retiring from Davis Cup was the fact I just don’t know anymore when I can do it and when I can’t do it. So much of my decisions are made week to week, balancing the family and the career and everything else.”

Agassi has taken his Davis Cup commitment seriously, and it has not always rewarded him. In 2000, for instance, he went immediately from winning the Australian Open to Harare for a first-round match against Zimbabwe and got sick on the court on the final day.

“It cost me a few weeks afterward. And that was when I was a youngster,” Agassi said, chuckling. “I was 30.”