| Davis Cup
solutions
Posted: Mon October 5,
1998 
Sports Illustrated staff writer Jon Wertheim will answer your tennis questions weekly. Click here to send a question.
Thank you for heeding my call to deliver more questions.
Let's dive right
in.
The Davis Cup matches used to be a prestigious event, and
players were honored to play for their country. What do you
think has gone
wrong?
—Sandy Parker, Orange,
Calif.
Why should the top U.S. stars be shamed into playing Davis
Cup? The criticism of Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi and
Michael Chang is that they are being selfish by not
representing the Stars and Stripes in Davis Cup
competition. Has it ever occurred to U.S. fans that it
might be the other way around? When the U.S. won the Davis
Cup against Russia in 1995, it almost seemed to pass
without notice. I don't think Sampras expected a ticker
tape parade down Fifth Avenue, but it didn't seem like
anybody so much as tooted a kazoo over the victory. Yet if
the U.S. loses, the top U.S. players who do not play get
all sorts of heat. I think we American tennis fans take the
participation of the top players for
granted.
—Rudy Fidelino, Watertown,
Mass.
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Agassi had a legitimate excuse for skipping the Davis Cup semis, but then lashed out inexecusably.
(Manny Millan)
| Lots of questions about the Davis Cup this week, so I'll
answer them in one fell swoop. As far as the U.S. team is
concerned there's essentially a vicious cycle. The top
players (read: Sampras and Chang) feel the Davis Cup isn't
prestigious enough to
make it worth their while. Instead of playing for the U.S. and
attempting to bolster the Cup's publicity and popularity,
they decide not to play. When they're absent, and the USTA
has to try and sell tickets with headliners like
Todd
Martin and
Jan-Michael
Gambill, the event truly does lose prestige. And downward it
goes.
Agassi is a bit less culpable, given his track record. This
year the semifinal fell on the same date as his charity
event in Vegas, so he begged off. Fine. But then he went on
this absolute tirade, excoriating the USTA for not holding
the tie on the
West Coast, in which case he would have been available, and
then refusing to play until the USTA gets a new president.
He makes some valid points but, typically, glosses over
some key
details.
First, everyone knows who sells tickets and who doesn't,
and sources have told me that the USTA bent over backwards
to try and move the event to Vegas to accommodate tennis'
No. 1 showstopper. Because the U.S. advancing to the semis
was not a
fait
accompli until July, no arenas were available on such short notice
to hold the September event. Second, the Davis Cup
timetable was made eons ago so one wonders why Agassi
scheduled his black-tie event for the same weekend as a
semifinals tie
event.
Anyway, here's the socialist solution: The USTA should do a
better job making the players feel as though they're part
of the Davis Cup process. The players shouldn't have to
find out about the site, for example, in a press release;
and they should have
some voice in naming the team captain. In return, Messrs.
Sampras, Agassi and even Chang should be expected not only
to play every round but take part in the tedious—but
vital—promotional events. Say this: A team with
Sampras, Agassi and Chang would have
waxed Italy in front of a packed house.
Who do you think will win the Davis Cup final? Assuming
that Italy chooses clay, will Swedish captain Carl-Axel
Hageskog pick Jonas Bjorkman and Thomas Johansson again or
will he go with any of the three Magnuses—Gustafsson,
Norman or Larsson—for the singles
matches?
More generally, don't you think the Davis Cup would be
better off played every two years or every four years?
Playing it less frequently (like the Ryder Cup or World
Cup), in my view, would generate a helluva lot more
interest among both players and
fans.
—Steven Penney, Fredericton, New
Brunswick
Even if the Italians play on the slowest clay allowed by
law, it's hard to imagine them springing another upset.
Just consider that there are six Swedes ranked higher than
Italy's best player, No. 39
Andrea
Gaudenzi. After Bjorkman and Johansson played so well against
Spain's Carlos Moya and Alex Corretja in the semis, I don't
think Hageskog will be tinkeing with his
lineup.
I generally agree that the event would enjoy greater
prestige if it were held every other year, as the Ryder Cup
is. The problem, however, is that a lot countries' tennis
federations rely on Davis Cup revenues to fund junior
programs, etc., and would be
hobbled if the event were only every other
year.
I have a question about '97 French Open champion Iva
Majoli: What's happened to her? Ever since she won the
French, her game has fallen apart and she's dropped in the
rankings. I am a fan of hers, but have been frustrated by
her constant losing for the past year. Is there any hope
for
her?
—Keith Jacobsen, Mitchell,
S.Dak.
She's hanging out with Mickey Rourke and Vanilla Ice in the
"Where are They Now?" room. Seriously, Majoli has
been in a monstrous tailspin since winning the French last
year. Her results were so bad, in fact, that she fell out
of the top 20 and Reebok
terminated her endorsement contract. At a Fed Cup match in
Croatia a few months ago, she lost 6-0, 6-1 to Amanda
Hopmans of the Netherlands, a player not even ranked in the
top 100.
Is there hope for a return to respectability? Sure. If
Majoli overcomes this crisis of confidence and takes more
chances on the court, she ought to be just fine. Besides,
just think of how few points she has to defend next
year.
What do you think of Anna Kournikova's game? Most of us
red-blooded American men have a hard time looking past her
obvious beauty, but do you think she is a legitimate top 10
player or just a beautiful young woman who happens to play
professional
tennis?
—Phil O'Donoghue, Florence,
Mass.
The real question is, How does she perceives herself?
Kournikova's new agency, Advantage International, is eager
for her to lose the haughty-hottie shtick and promote
herself as an athlete. When she's on her game, it's a
wonder why, even at her young
age, she's not a top 10 player. But one gets the distinct
feeling that right now she wouldn't trade places with, say,
Lindsay
Davenport for all the Grand Slams in the
world.
Lindsay Davenport's victory at the U.S. Open means that she
is no longer the best player without a Slam victory. Who
has that particular distinction now? I would venture either
Anke Huber or Mary Joe Fernandez. Any other candidates?
Also, how do you see their
chances?
—Alvin Jiminez, Aguadilla, Puerto
Rico
I'd say that hot potato is now in
Venus
Williams' hands. The other top candidate is
Patty
Schnyder, whom Williams just beat last weekend in the finals of the
Grand Slam Cup. Neither Williams nor Schnyder has turned
20, and I'm sure both will shed this distinction within the
next few years. As for veterans, Huber is up there along
with, say, Irina
Spirlea and Amanda Coetzer. I'm not sure I like any of their
chances. Mary Joe's only chance—a slim one at
that—is on clay. Huber's best days are behind her.
Ditto for Coetzer. And Spirlea is too erratic and
temperamental to go undefeated for two weeks.
As for the men, it's all Rios, all the time. After him, I'd
go with
Corretja.
Don't you agree that 'exhibition' events such as the Grand
Slam Cup which pay obscene amounts of cash even to the
losers do not benefit the game? And what's with giving
Andre Agassi a wild card? Any opinions on how to motivate
these lotto
winners?
—Nathan Scantlebury,
Barbados
Seriously, Nathan: You don't think the game of tennis
benefitted from Cedric Pioline showing up for the Grand
Slam Cup with a groin injury, losing 6-0, 6-0 to Agassi in
34 minutes, collecting his $100,000 first-round loser's
check, and then going home?
How could you answer a question about age and its
relationship to Grand Slam
potential without mentioning MARTINA?!?!? (And I don't mean
Hingis.)
—Brent E. Adams,
Chicago
In that case, a belated MARTINA?!?!? (Truth is, I was only
referring to current
players.)
I was and still am a big Gabriela Sabatini fan. I was
saddened by her premature retirement from the game. What
are her chances for induction into the Hall of Fame? Will
one Grand Slam championship and numerous other titles
suffice?
—Alex Anania, Jackson Heights,
N.Y.
As
Pat
Cash can attest, it's hard to get into the Hall of Fame when
you've only won one Grand Slam. On the other hand, Gabby
won 27 career titles, made the semis or better at 18 Slams
and, perhaps, most important, was immensely good for the
game. As was the case
when she walked on the court, her chances of getting inducted
are completely up in the
air.
I lost all respect for Agassi at the U.S. Open after his
childish match with Karol Kucera. You could see the impact
Agassi's criticisms had on Kucera's almost-perfect game. As
John McEnroe said on
TV during the match, do you think players have to do whatever
it takes out there to
win?
—Kap, Toronto,
Ontario
I realize that a certain level of gamesmanship is part of
the equation, but I think Agassi's showmanship and
grandstanding was totally beyond the pale. The world's most
popular player ought to be above mocking his opponent
(particularly a
non-English-speaking Slovakian) who just so happens to be beating him two
sets to love. Other players will complain that when the
cameras are off, Agassi can be something of a bully, and he
certainly showed glimpses of his underbelly against Kucera.
That said, McEnroe
doesn't have much of a leg to stand on when he laments a
player "doing whatever it takes to win" even if
it flies in the face of
sportsmanship.
Here is my question: Do you agree that it is wrong for Anna
Kournikova to be dating someone so much older than her? Do
you agree that it would be better for her to date someone
more her age, like, say, me (I'm 21)? If you do, do you
have her phone number? Thanks for your
time...
—Ehud Knoll, State College,
Pa.
With all due respect, no one named Ehud who frequents the
Internet is going to hang with Anna. Even if you are 21.
Here's my best suggestion: Lock the door to your dorm room
and check out
www.annak.com. And don't worry: You won't go
blind.
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