No Rest for a Frazzled Captain McEnroe
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.
|
|
The views expressed by the authors do not necessarily reflect those of this magazine.
https://tennis-ontheline.com/00/00cgjmac.htm © 125
Last updated 26 September 2015
|