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 America’s unlikely new tennis heartthrob
Posted: Saturday September 05, 1998 12:36 PM
Sports Illustrated staff writer Jon Wertheim will file frequently from Flushing Meadows during the U.S. Open. Jan-Michael Gambill, the 21-year-old American, may have advanced to the third round of the Open Friday with a solid four-set win over Magnus Norman. But it ranks a distant second as the highlight of his year. "Maybe the best day of my life," he says, came two months ago at a tournament in Los Angeles. Before losing to Andre Agassi in the second round, he had the chance to meet two of his idols: Reba McEntire and William Shatner. While Gambill only spoke briefly with McEntire, whom he admires "for the heart and courage she shows in her music," he had an instant rapport with Shatner. "Bill—he prefers to be called that—and I went out and hit some balls the next day," says Gambill gleefully. "He has good, solid strokes and is really into strategy. Just like you'd expect Captain Kirk to be." As eccentric a tennis player as you'll find, Gambill has beamed up more than 100 spots in the rankings since starting the year at No. 176. Though he has cooled off since the winter, when he notched hardcourt wins over Agassi, Mark Philippoussis and Tim Henman, he is fast burnishing a reputation as a player on the make. If he beats Carlos Moya in his next match, he is virtually assured of finishing the year ranked in the top 50. Agassi, who has flown Gambill to his house in Los Angeles for practice sessions, has already lobbied for him to play for the U.S. Davis Cup team. "I have posters of Andre on my bedroom wall and next thing I know he's going out of his way to help me with my game," says Gambill, who hails from Spokane, Washington , and, like most unapologetic Trekkies, still lives at home with his parents. "The whole year has just been too wild." Gambill's game is as quirky as his personality. Standing nearly 6 feet 4 inches, he has a booming serve but seldom follows it in to the net. Instead, he's bound to the baseline where he's one of the few pro players to hit two-fisted groundstrokes off both wings. He's been encouraged to experiment with a one-handed forehand to improve his reach, but is adamant about not changing. A more pressing concern is handling the gaggle of fans after his matches. Endowed with blond hair, blue eyes, perfect teeth and killer abs, Gambill has attracted the particular attention of the "I Love Leo" set and obliges every autograph request. "Even if it takes a long time, I won't squiggle," he says. "I write out my whole name, hyphen and everything. I want them to know who I am." Given his results so far this year, that shouldn't be a problem. VOLLEYS: Gustavo Kuerten, who lost in the second round to South African qualifier David Nainkin, hasn't been past the third round of a Grand Slam since winning the 1997 French Open. ...The Tommy Haas-Yevgeny Kafelnikov m atch featured six breaks on the serve in the first set. Kafelnikov won the match, 7-5, 6-2, 1-6, 7-5. ...Goran Ivanisevic has lost his last five matches to his next opponent, 32-year-old Paul Haarhuis -- the oldest remaining male player -- w ho's ranked an unimposing No. 85. ...Asked whether he would reconsider his decision not to play Davis Cup if the event were on clay, Agassi responded, "If it was in my backyard, I wouldn't walk out the back door." ...A mere 315 slots in the ranking separa ted second-seed Marcelo Rios from his second-round opponent, Italian qualifier Giorgio Galimberti. Not surprisingly, Rios won 6-2, 6-7, 6-2, 6-2. ...After losing the second set of her opening match to Corina Morariu, Steffi Graf has dropped a total of four games in her last five sets. ...After two rounds, of the top eight men's seeds only No. 5 Richard Krajicek hasn't dropped a set yet.
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