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by Christopher Gerby Less than a week after his second nail-biting win as captain of the U.S. Davis Cup team, John McEnroe entertained 40 minutes worth of questions from members of the tennis media. McEnroe was calling from a Seniors Tour event in Doha, Qatar -- the latest stop in an ongoing world tour for the prolific player-commentator-captain. After sitting helplessly on the sidelines while his American charges struggled to a 3-2 win over the Czech Republic, McEnroe sounded relieved to be back on the court as a player. He lost a total of just six games in wins over Gene Mayer and Claudio Panatta, calling the matches a good way to "get that nervousness out of my system." (McEnroe was less successful in his next round robin bout, dropping out of title contention with a surprising loss to longtime rival Bjorn Borg.) "It's not healthy...on a physical level," he said of the captain's role during Davis Cup matches. "I don't know if I will ever get the comfort level to do it all the time." The majority of questions regarded the Davis Cup team's narrow win over the Czechs and July's semifinal tie in Spain. McEnroe deemed that matchup "a 50/50 shot" and "a tough proposition," theorizing that it may come down to the doubles match. "That's gonna be an important point for us." After unsuccessfully pairing doubles specialist Alex O'Brien with Rick Leach and Jared Palmer in the first two doubles matches of his tenure, McEnroe is now leaning towards calling on one of his singles players. "The idea of Pete (Sampras) or even Andre (Agassi) playing in doubles would be an exciting one," John said, although he added that "it's tough to play three straight days, especially on clay." I asked whether he would encourage either of the big stars to play some doubles matches in the next few months to prepare for that role in Davis Cup. "I'm not gonna tell them to do that," McEnroe replied. "With a minimum of practice, they can scare people." Of course, Captain Mac is tempted to insert himself into the lineup for that crucial doubles match. "I've always dreamed of being a part of that," he said. However, while he wouldn't completely rule out that scenario, "I don't foresee it happening." Jim Courier, Todd Martin, and Chris Woodruff were three players he mentioned as more likely candidates to join the team for the semifinal round. As for the Davis Cup final, McEnroe would love for his squad to play a home match against Brazil, but rates them a "very very unlikely...10 to 1 shot" to upset Australia in the other semifinal. All in all, McEnroe was in his usual loquacious form, giving plenty of long, interesting answers. He only sounded genuinely annoyed on two occasions: when asked about the number of endorsements he's involved in and when pressed about the seemingly shaky Davis Cup commitment he's gotten from Sampras. "It's as firm as I've had it for the other matches," McEnroe declared, specifying that Sampras is "committed to at least the entire year." Whether that commitment will involve doubles duty remains to be seen. |