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Why Andre Should Play Davis Cup
by Ricardo Cestero

It has been widely reported that Davis Cup Captain, Patrick McEnroe went to visit with Andre Agassi this week in Las Vegas to try and convince him to play Davis Cup for the U.S. team this season. McEnroe has said he's not optimistic and the chances are less than 50%, but he wants to make the effort. Notwithstanding Captain Mac's pessimism there are a number of reason's why Andre should decide to play at least the first round this year.

The most obvious reason is location. The Carson site is a mere 2 hour drive from Indian Wells where the first Tennis Masters Series tournament will begin on March 7. Andre can comfortably spend a week in the Los Angeles area before pushing out to the desert to try and add to his record 17 Masters Series titles.

The second, not so obvious reason is, as Andre gets older and plays fewer tournaments, he gets less practice in big matches. Last year he lost many very close matches in big tournaments that he probably should have won -- v. Safin in Australia, v. Federer in Indian Wells, v. Federer at the U.S. Open. One big reason for this is lack of practice. The Davis cup offers him a great opportunity to play one (or possibly two) high intensity best of five set matches. That experience could be of great benefit in the remaining Grand Slams.

Third, it's a great chance for Andre to win a major title. His opportunities to win Grand Slams are diminishing as the fields get stronger, deeper and younger. Australia probably remains his best bet, but if he's not able to raise his ranking up to the top 4 (not likely given the likes of Federer, Roddick, Hewitt and Safin), he's going to have to play those guys in quarterfinals. Not an easy task. The Davis Cup title, on the other hand, is well within the grasp of a U.S. squad featuring Roddick, Agassi and the Bryan Brothers (who have yet to lose in Davis Cup).

Finally, Andre has always loved Davis Cup. Davis Cup is a team game where Agassi thrives. Even if Andre has a bad day, this Davis Cup team is filled with people who are likely to win matches. As part of the Davis Cup team, he can act as a mentor to Roddick and the Bryan Brothers, and help teach them how to win Grand Slams and Davis Cup titles.

In the twilight of his career, Davis Cup is the perfect fit for Andre. For the sake of all of us tennis fans, I hope Captain Mac is a persuasive fellow.