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Davis Cup decisions No John McEnroe, no Woodruff for U.S. team
Sports Illustrated senior writer Jon Wertheim spoke with CNNSI.com about the goings on in the tennis world this week: CNNSI.com: The Davis Cup starts Friday with the U.S. taking on Switzerland. So just how close did Pat McEnroe come to naming his big brother John, to the doubles spot? Jon Wertheim: Midway through the Australian Open, the new captain was serious about calling the old captain's number. Some viewed it as a cheap publicity stunt, but even Andre Agassi said John McEnroe was up to the challenge. The prospect of tapping a 43-year-old player, however, didn't go over well with other American players, particularly after Justin Gimelstob and Scott Humphries reached the semifinals of the Australian Open. And the situation got more complicated when Andy Roddick, the great young American hope, won a satellite in Hawaii and showed he's obviously playing well. In the end, common sense prevailed. At least for this round. CNNSI.com: As I understand it, that wasn't the only controversy. Jon Wertheim: Yeah, right. Chris Woodruff, the hero of last year's tie against Zimbabwe, defeated another American Jan-Michael Gambill in the first round in Melbourne. A source close to the team told me that Woodruff assumed that, having beaten Gambill, he would be playing singles against Switzerland. When he asked Pat McEnroe for a guarantee that he'd be playing and not sitting on the bench, he didn't get it. So he called McEnroe's bluff and decided not to participate. CNNSI.com: Back to the Australian Open, how's Martina Hingis handling a stunning defeat to Jennifer Capriati? Jon Wertheim: After losing to Jennifer Capriati in the finals of the Australian Open, the EIGHTH straight time she's failed to win a Grand Slam, Hingis was as shell-shocked as I've ever seen her. I think she figured that once she had beaten both Williams sisters, she was home free. When she wasn't it was devastating. Instead of going home to stew, she flew right to Tokyo and played a tournament last week. A few players there told me that Hingis seemed to have gotten over the loss and was doing okay. Her tennis was okay too. She reached the final before falling in three sets to Lindsay Davenport. CNNSI.com: And how about Andre Agassi? He seemed so nonchalant when he won. Jon Wertheim: Well Agassi may have been understated in front of the public when he won his third Australian Open last week, but he wasn't totally subdued. Two hours after the match, when there were no fans or reporters in sight, Agassi and his coach Brad Gilbert took a quick plunge in Melbourne's Yarra River. It's a tradition Jim Courier initiated in the early 90s. But, before last week, it came to halt when players learned that the Yarra is 30 times too polluted for swimming. "I told Andre to close his mouth when he jumped in," Steffi Graf said. "I didn't want him to get sick." He didn't and now he's taking a few weeks off, shuttling between Las Vegas and the new mansion he bought in Marin County. Sports Illustrated senior writer Jon Wertheim covers the tennis beat for the magazine and is a regular contributor to CNNSI.com.
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