McEnroe Quits as Davis Cup Captain

N E W  Y O R K, Nov. 20, 2000 -- As Davis Cup captain, John McEnroe’s biggestproblem was that he didn’t have someone like John McEnroe as aplayer.

For lack of such a player, one of the best in the world whowould put Davis Cup first among his priorities, McEnroe has calledit quits after 14 months stint at the helm of the U.S. team.

Striving for Perfection

“John feels so passionate about Davis Cup and he is aperfectionist,” U.S. Tennis Association President Judy Leveringsaid today. “He’s disappointed with himself.”

But Levering cautioned that McEnroe’s resignation was not justthe lack of having America’s top players ready to play every DavisCup series.

“He’s upset with the format of Davis Cup and feels it keeps theU.S. from doing as well as it could,” she said. “It was acombination of things that led to it.”

McEnroe told Levering of his decision over lunch in New Yorkearly last week, before he left for Frankfurt, Germany, where heplayed in a senior tournament.

“We weren’t prepared to make a statement then,” Levering said.“We didn’t want the perception to be he and I were at odds, so wedecided to make a joint announcement.

“We pretty much had the announcement on Saturday. I asked todelay it until after the Chase Championships. I didn’t think it wasright to make the announcement at someone else’s event.”

The Chase Championships, the season-ending tournament of the WTATour, was completed on Sunday, with Martina Hingis defeating MonicaSeles in a close match.

McEnroe was playing today in Frankfurt and not immediatelyavailable for comment. Before the USTA announcement was made, herefused to comment when contacted at his hotel room by TheAssociated Press.

The resignation of McEnroe, one of the greatest players in DavisCup history, comes nearly four months after the U.S. team was sweptby Spain in the semifinals. He said he was “extremely frustratedwith the difficulties of the scheduling and format of thecompetition.”

He also was troubled because two of the world’s top players,Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi, were unwilling to fully commit toDavis Cup play.

“I was privileged to have been selected and honored to haveserved as captain,” McEnroe said. “Unfortunately, for a varietyof reasons I was disappointed that I was unable to have a greatimpact as captain of the team.”

Role as Cup Saver

Levering appointed McEnroe captain on Sept. 8, 1999, to pumplife into an event that does not get nearly as much attention inthe United States as it does around the world.

He immediately received a call from Agassi, who said he wantedto be on the team. After much pleading, McEnroe also got Sampras tocome aboard. But Sampras pulled out of the first-round seriesagainst Zimbabwe, citing a hip injury, which caused the outspokenMcEnroe to question Sampras’ commitment to Davis Cup.

Agassi won the Australian Open, then flew to Zimbabwe and ledthe United States to a narrow victory. Agassi and Sampras bothplayed in the next round in Los Angeles, where the Americans barelyedged the Czech Republic.

However, the two skipped the semifinals on clay in Spain becauseof injuries. McEnroe put together a makeshift team that failed towin a match in three days, the first time in 101 years of Davis Cupplay that the United States was beaten 5-0 without the title on theline.

“I’m totally spent, I’m deflated,” McEnroe said at the time.

Signing for three years as captain, McEnroe was set on restoringthe lost glory of Davis Cup in the United States. In the 1920s,’30s and ’40s, the Davis Cup was among the biggest events on theAmerican sports calendar.

McEnroe brought back some of its popularity in the late 1970sand early ’80s, when he helped win four championships in fiveyears. As captain, he thought his name, status and love of the cupwould lure the top players.

“Either it’s bad luck or I haven’t made a difference,” McEnroesaid at the start of the semifinals in Spain.

Levering disagreed.

“I feel he had a terrific impact and brought attention to DavisCup, not only in the United States but around the world,” shesaid. “In the two ties we won, I’m convinced it was because ofJohn.”

McEnroe believes a month should be set aside for the tournament,creating a “Davis Cup time” that players and fans could easilyidentify.

“I have made it known for many years that the current format isproblematic for the world’s top players,” he said. “It is my hopethat the Davis Cup will be restructured so that it can beeverything I envision it has the potential to be.”