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 Alex O'Brien named to Davis Cup team
Posted: Monday July 05, 1999 07:10 PM
BROOKLINE, Mass. (AP) -- U.S. Davis Cup captain Tom Gullickson has his team. Now all he has to do is figure out the lineup. Gullickson picked Alex O'Brien on Monday to complete a roster that already included Pete Sampras, Jim Courier and Todd Martin. But the captain was mum on whether Sampras, fresh off another Wimbledon title, will play singles or doubles. "You'll have to wait and see," Gullickson said at a news conference at the Longwood Cricket Club, where the United States will play its quarterfinal against Australia on July 16-18. O'Brien of Amarillo, Texas, has eight career doubles titles, including one at Queen's Club last month in which he and Sebastien Lareau beat Australians Mark Woodforde and Todd Woodbridge. O'Brien will be making his third Davis Cup appearance, with a 1-2 career record. The winner of the best-of-5 quarterfinal will advance to the semifinals against Russia or Slovakia on Sept. 24-26. In addition to roster announcement, the event celebrated the 120th birthday of Davis Cup founder and original U.S. captain Dwight Davis. Shortly after graduating from Harvard University in 1900, Davis bought a silver bowl for $750 and offered it as a prize for an international lawn tennis competition. Sampras originally balked at joining the team because Gullickson had asked for a full-year commitment. He later agreed to sign on but said he would play only doubles so as not to upset those who were there from the start. Still, Martin said he would sit out singles to make room for Sampras, who might be the best player in tennis history. But Gullickson said there are other considerations. "Pete's feelings, Todd's feelings, Jim's feelings, Alex's feelings," the captain said. "We just didn't want someone jumping in for this historic tie. ... He [Sampras] was very sensitive that Jim and Todd have been there every time for us." The decision doesn't have to be made until the day before the matches, July 15. Gullickson also said he spoke recently with Wimbledon runner-up and world No. 1 Andre Agassi. Agassi had a falling out with the Davis Cup leadership over scheduling and will not participate. "Obviously, we'd love to have Andre back. He chose not to be. That's his personal decision," Gullickson said. "My door is always open for him to come back. "Everybody can choose to play or not play. This is America. ... In a perfect world, every American would make himself available at the beginning of every year. It isn't like that."
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