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Australia teaches stunning lessons

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Posted: Friday July 16, 1999 08:21 PM

BROOKLINE, Mass. -- With a bored Pete Sampras looking on, Australia mounted a 2-0 advantage in Davis Cup play Friday.

If there was a lesson to be gleaned from the first singles match between 18-year-old Australian wunderkind Lleyton Hewitt and grey-templed American Todd Martin, it's that pressure doesn't discriminate between age. More than a decade older than his ponytailed counterpart, Martin -- on paper, anyway -- held a decided advantage. Playing the Davis Cup, after all, is much different than slugging it out on the Grandstand court in San Jose on a Tuesday. As a neophyte in the competition, Hewitt was about to learn this the hard way, right? "Oh, yeah," his own teammate, Patrick Rafter, said before the match, "Lleyton will feel some nerves when he gets out there."

If so, he suppressed them awfully well. In a crucial 6-4, 6-7, 6-3, 6-0 win that was more lopsided than the score indicated, Hewitt showed why he is the best teenager in the world. He played controlled, clever tennis, delivered the goods on big points, and demonstrated an Andre Agassi -like power from the backcourt that belied his slight physique. "I felt great today," he said afterwards. "No question that was the biggest win of my career."

Ironically, it was Martin who facilitated matters by doing a pretty darn good Jana Novotna impression. Looking nothing like an even-tempered veteran player who is currently No. 8 in the world, Martin made a ghastly 73 unforced errors, failed to hold serve in the final set, and showed all the mobility of Bunker Hill. "That was certainly not what I was hoping for," said Martin. "But one of the main reasons it didn't happen was because of the fellow I was playing."

If there was a lesson to gleaned from the second match, which pitted Jim Courier against Rafter, it's that grit, guile and guts only go so far against an elite opponent. As the player who was most opposed to Sampras-come-lately crowding the stage and taking a singles spot, Courier faced an extra dollop of pressure today. As ever, he played intelligent, scrappy tennis, taking risks, serving well and changing pace deftly. Problem was, his opponent was not some Wayne Ferreira -- and not even some Tim Henman -- whom he could "dirtball" into submission. Rather, he faced a player who will take over the No. 1 ranking next week. Rafter, operating on his favorite surface (hard court), methodically dismantled a gallant Courier 7-6, 6-4, 6-4 by simply playing superior tennis. "He played a good match," Courier conceded. "But now we're going to move on and try to get of this 2-0 hole."

There's no faulting that attitude, nor Courier's play today. But you still can't help wonder: Would the U.S. be a point from elimination had the curly-haired guy who just won Wimbledon decided to play singles?

NET CORDS

You won't get to see them play, but the U.S team's practice partners are both good copy. Jeff Blake, a 19-year-old who just finished his sophomore year at Harvard, is one of the U.S.'s most promising young pros. A 6'1" string bean of African-American descent, Blake plans to return to Harvard when his pro career is over. Rest assured he'll be a household name before long. The other, Chris Woodruff, won a Super 9 event in 1997 but saw his ranking drop to 1,342 last year after suffering a knee injury kicking field goals. (Don't ask.) He's healthy again, though, and climbing the charts. ... Todd Woodbridge, who removed himself from Australia's doubles lineup citing a "crisis of confidence," wasn't with the team this weekend. The "Woodies" partnership, however, with Mark Woodforde, will be back in business this summer. ... Win or lose this weekend, don't expect to see Agassi emulate Sampras and rejoin the Davis Cup team. For the second straight year, he scheduled his charity benefit in Las Vegas for the same weekend as the semifinal ties this fall.

Come back Saturday and Sunday to read Sports Illustrated staff writer Jon Wertheim's reports from the U.S.-Australia Davis Cup tie in Massachusetts.

 

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