17 July 1999
Sampras and O'Brien give U.S. a slim chance
BROOKLINE, Mass. -- Pete Sampras and Alex O'Brien rescued their despondent Davis Cup teammates Saturday, stopping an Australian sweep and giving the United States a trace of keep the U.S. hope going into the final singles matches.
On another brutally hot day when the court burned at 131 degrees, Sampras and O'Brien persevered through nearly 3 1/2 hours to stave off elimination in the quarterfinals with a 6-4, 6-3, 3-6, 4-6, 6-3 victory.
Now it's up to Todd Martin in the first match Sunday against Patrick Rafter, and Jim Courier in the second match against Lleyton Hewitt, to see if they can pull off a comeback from 0-2 in the best-of-5 duel.
U.S. captain Tom Gullikson hinted at the possibility that Martin might be injured and be replaced by Sampras, a suggestion that raised the eyebrows of the Australians -- and Martin.
"No, I'm not injured, I'm fine," Martin said as he went out to practice about an hour after the doubles match. Told about Gullikson's comments, Martin said, "I haven't spoken to Gully," then rushed off to the court.
Gullikson was coy about Martin's condition and possible withdrawal. "It's a possibility," Gullikson said, "because some of the players aren't 100 percent fit."
In the practice session, Martin showed no sign of injury.
Australian captain John Newcombe said he'd be surprised if Martin withdrew, saying he also hadn't heard of any injury. Asked if he would lodge a protest if Martin sat out the singles, Newcombe said he wasn't sure. "I have never been in the position where someone has pulled out where they shouldn't," he said.
Only an injury, substantiated by a tournament doctor and accepted by the neutral referee, would allow a player to withdraw from a match and be replaced by another player.
Sampras indicated he'd be willing to play for Martin, if asked.
"We're all sitting up here pretty happy that we are still in this thing," Sampras said. "Our back is against the wall at this point. We're going to talk about it tonight, and go from there."
"But it is a very sensitive subject. Tom has been getting killed in the press about me not playing singles, and it is not fair. It was my choice."
Only once before, in 1934, has a U.S. Davis Cup team rallied back from 0-2. Sidney Wood, one of the members of that U.S. team, was on hand to watch this year's squad at the Longwood Cricket Club.
The 87-year-old's advice: "Win the doubles, first of all."
Sampras and O'Brien had no choice but to do exactly that if they were to prevent a sweep after Rafter beat Courier and Hewitt beat Martin in Friday's singles matches. And they had to do it against tough competition: The Australians had not lost a Davis Cup doubles match in five years.
Sampras, who rarely plays doubles on the ATP Tour or in Davis Cup, showed he could make the transition from singles simply by allowing his serve-and-volley prowess to overcome his tactical deficiencies.
From the start, when Sampras won his first point on serve with a leaping overhead that caromed over the Australians' heads into the stands, he left no doubt that he was serious about winning this match.
He let loose a roar on another overhead at the start of the fifth set, just in case the Australians hadn't gotten his message.
"At that point, we were a little bit down on ourselves," Sampras said. "I just wanted the other guys to know that I am going to jump through the roof and put a little yell out there, let them know we are not going to die."
"The fifth set of a match like today, you have got to put everything you have into it. It might have sent them a message that we are going to fight until the end, and we did."
Sampras had taken plenty of abuse for his decision to join the Davis Cup effort just three months ago, and then to limit his participation to doubles. It was a decision that may yet undermine the Americans, if Martin and Courier don't win, but on this day Sampras at least did his part.
Responding to chants of "Pete! Pete! Pete!" by the overheated and fired-up capacity crowd of 5,342 at Longwood, Sampras opened the last service game, at 5-3 in the fifth, with one more soaring overhead smash into the stands.
When he found himself in trouble at 30-40 in that game after popping a string and volleying into the net, he redeemed himself by putting away a volley on the next point, then hitting a service winner to set up match point.
The crowd chanted for Sampras again, and he came back with another big serve that Mark Woodforde sprayed wide with a backhand.
It was match of extraordinary tension, marked by fierce exchanges at the net and scurrying shots from the baseline.
"Those rallies were unbelievable," Newcombe said. "On one of those long points that they had, where the boys were smashing and the Americans retrieved, I thought this is as good as it gets in sport."
"What is this here about Davis Cup not being exciting? I mean, the crowd going absolutely nuts, four guys out there just killing one another to try to win -- that is what sports is all about."
In each set, only one service break made the difference.
Woodforde, one of the best doubles players of all time who was playing without his injured regular partner, Todd Woodbridge, was the one who yielded the last break after five deuces.
Trailing 4-3 in the fifth, Woodforde double-faulted three times. He fended off two break points, had three game points himself, but finally lost it when O'Brien flicked a backhand lob that Stolle caught on a scramble but hit long.
"Two double-faults came out of nowhere," Woodforde said. "It is not like my hands were shaking or it was a bad ball toss. It was a big surprise."
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