Agassi's return brings hope for '05 Davis Cup
Agassi's return brings hope for '05 Davis Cup
After a long two weeks working as an ESPN analyst at the Australian Open,
Davis Cup captain Patrick McEnroe took a detour through Las Vegas on his
way home to New York.
McEnroe sat down with Andre Agassi and his coach Darren Cahill at a
restaurant in the Bellagio Hotel and Casino. And they talked for hours
about Davis Cup.
When McEnroe left, he still didn't know if he'd talked Agassi, who quit
playing Davis Cup in 2000, into returning. But Agassi talked to current
team members Andy Roddick, the Bryan brothers and Taylor Dent and last
year's No. 2 player behind Roddick, Mardy Fish, about the possibility.
Agassi must have been reassured because he agreed to return at least for
the United States meeting with Croatia in Carson, Calif., to be aired on
ESPN2 on March 4-6.
"They all expressed encouragement, which is very much appreciated,"
Agassi said in a statement Monday.
Agassi's return should prove to be a winner for American tennis in multiple
ways as well as helpful to Agassi, McEnroe said in a conference call Monday.
To start off with, of course, Agassi sells tickets. In the Davis Cup ties
the United States played at home last year the biggest turnout was in
Charleston with an average of 9,317 per day. Their final against Spain in
Seville sold out -- a record 27,000 strong. Tennis competes with so many
other sports for attention in the United States and Agassi can draw some
of that focus.
"It certainly brings more of a buzz to Davis Cup," McEnroe said. "I certainly
think that some of our players can learn from Andre, and I think that's
important to him, as well."
Roddick indicated as much at the Australian Open.
"I think we would all welcome him with open arms," Roddick said. "I think
that can do nothing but positive things. Selfishly, I'd love to get in there
and learn a lot more from him."
Roddick also helped with the lobbying.
"I kind of just wanted to let him know that we would like it … (he) has the
support of our team," Roddick said. "That's kind of where I wanted to just
get that point across."
McEnroe said that just because Agassi committed to play doesn't mean he will.
"It may not necessarily be Roddick, Agassi and the Bryans, whether it comes
down to who is playing best, whether it comes down to surface, whether it
comes down to injuries, et cetera," McEnroe said. "We're still going to need
some other players I think to step in."
Yes, but surely captain, you wouldn't pull Agassi if he's not playing his
best -- the way Spain did with former No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero in last
year's final?
"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it," McEnroe said. "If I'm going to
pull Andre Agassi from a Davis Cup match, that means that -- that must mean
we've got some players playing darn well, OK? So far that wouldn't have been
an option at this point.
"If it gets to that, then I've got a good problem on my hands."
His current problem is Croatia, which defeated the United States 4-1 in the
first round of 2003. But the only player returning from that team is Dent.
With Roddick and Agassi on this team, the prospects are good.
Roddick has never lost a Davis Cup match on home soil, and Agassi just plain
wins. In his 10 years of play in Davis Cup between 1988-2000, Agassi is 30-5
-- all in singles. Agassi's the second-winningest American in Davis Cup play.
Still, McEnroe's not guaranteeing a win.
"I think it gives us a better chance to win," McEnroe said. "To be honest, I
think we all know that."
Here's the catch, though. Agassi is 10-2 on clay -- the surface the United
States lost the final on last year. The only problem is that those types of
matches won't be played at home, where Agassi most likely will prefer to
participate.
One reason Agassi chose to come back is that McEnroe assured Agassi he
wouldn't be pressured to show up for every tie.
"Certainly home matches, I think is a better shot," McEnroe said. "He's going
to make decisions based on how his body's feeling, how much work he's put in
on the court, how well he does at the majors."
The first tie the team could face overseas might be Belarus in the second
round. That would be after the double-whammy of the French Open and Wimbledon.
It might be more than Agassi at 34 would want to play.
"I understand where he is in his career, personally, professionally, all the
different things on his plate," McEnroe said. "We will take it one step at a
time."
McEnroe hopes one of the first steps is for the players to learn more than
just tips on how to play from Agassi.
"When he goes out on the court to practice, he doesn't waste any time,"
McEnroe said. "He takes care of his business, and he takes care of his
other responsibilities, which are big. Come up with another player that's
had more sort of off-the-court stuff and sort of responsibilities to deal
with in tennis than Andre. There aren't that many of them. He handles it
all with a lot of class and professionalism."
As for Agassi, he gets to be part of a special brotherhood the younger
players have built and a chance for one more Davis Cup title to add to
his collection of three.
"I think Andre saw that from a distance," McEnroe said. "I think he thought,
'Hey, this is something that I'd like to be involved in.'"
McEnroe also feels pretty strongly that this is a way for Agassi to remind
people of everything he's done for Davis Cup.
"The fact that people say, 'Hey, how come Agassi doesn't play Davis Cup' is
to me a crime," McEnroe said. "I think with him coming back and playing under
the right conditions, his legacy should be written in a
positive way."
The United States last won the Davis Cup in 1995 when Agassi was playing.
In 2001, McEnroe inherited a team full of untried youngsters whose senior
players refused to participate.
"One of the big frustrations for me always as a captain was to feel like,
'Wouldn't it be great if we could play everybody with our best team,'"
McEnroe said. "Now we're going to have the possibility this year to do
that."
http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/tennis/news/story?id=1986673
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