Court 25 Serves Up Couple of Winners

NEW YORK —  You get to Court 25 at the U.S. Tennis Center either with a Rand McNally map or a hired guide. It fits the cliche perfectly: It’s not at the end of the tennis world, but you can see it from there.

After waiting for a changeover at Court 23, you are allowed to venture on, into the back lots of the U.S. Open, where matches attract mothers, fathers, husbands and wives of those playing, plus a few degenerates sick enough to bet on mixed doubles. The Samprases and Grafs play in stadiums or grandstands, in front of thousands. On Court 25, they play in front of dozens on benches and folding chairs.

This is “Planes, Trains and Automobiles.” When the mayor had those planes rerouted a few years ago so as not to disturb the fragile superstars on Stadium Court, he apparently had the landing patterns re-vectored closer to Court 25. At particularly special moments, the train that runs directly behind the court gets its schedule synchronized with a plane taking off, and a couple of cars in the parking lot right next to the train tracks choose the moment for dueling horns.

This may be far from the madding crowd, but what remains is, indeed, maddening.

Errant balls from adjoining practice courts fly all over the place; a light pole sways in the wind and squeaks loudly. One court away, in a huge sponsors’ area for cocktailing and socializing, the sound frequently gets turned up on the big-screen TV and wafts into the match: “Now, CNN Headline News takes you to Bernard Shaw in. . . .”

The crowd watching the match on Court 25 frequently is boosted by another dozen or so who watch from the ramps on the backside of the giant stadium that looms above. On a good day, such as Wednesday, the planes, trains and automobiles are joined in harmony with the squeaky light pole, the big-screen TV and a young couple on the ramp, arguing loudly about who forgot to bring the ATM card.

So it was on a day at the U.S. Open that will not live in infamy. Pete Sampras beat up on a guy ranked No. 206; Andrei Medvedev and Yevgeny Kafelnikov tested the typing ability of the American press corps with victories, and Arantxa Sanchez Vicario gave her 410th consecutive interview in which she said that she fought hard and hit lots of good backhands.

But there was a silver lining Wednesday, and it was right there on Court 25, in the persons of Paul Annacone and Ken Flach, who made the venture into the hinterlands worth the effort.

One, Annacone, played in the first match of the day there, a men’s doubles affair in which he and his partner, Shelby Cannon, upset the 11th-seeded team of Henrik Holm and Anders Jarryd of Sweden, 7-6 (7-3), 2-6, 6-1. The other, Flach, played in the last match of the day there, losing with partner Debbie Graham of Fountain Valley in a mixed doubles contest against Natalie Medvedeva of Ukraine and Hendrik Davids of the Netherlands, 6-3, 1-6, 7-5.

In 1981, Annacone and Flach won the Orange Bowl boys’ 18 doubles title. In 1986, for one brief, shining moment in Camelot, Annacone and Flach were the U.S. doubles team, beating an Australian duo in Annacone’s only Davis Cup appearance.

“I’m undefeated in Davis Cup,” said Annacone.

“I’m 10-2,” said Flach, who won 10 consecutive Davis Cup doubles matches--nine with Robert Seguso--in one span.

Now, both are 31, and like Energizer bunnies, still going.

“I do it because I’m a member of the ATP Tour board of directors and I should stay active if I can,” Annacone said. “Also, I still enjoy it and can make a living at it.”

Said Flach: “I still like this. It’s still fun, I’m still competitive and it’s hard to beat the money. Plus, I don’t want to quit too early. I see guys like (Mats) Wilander trying to make comebacks, and I talked to Seguso the other day and he’s thinking about coming back. I think once you leave, it’s too hard to come back.”

Flach rarely plays singles anymore, Annacone not at all, but both still have annual incomes in six figures--Flach perhaps as much as $300,000. Each has had great moments in the sport, Flach with many Grand Slam doubles titles and Annacone with, among others things, a memorable 7-6, 6-7, 7-6 L.A. Open final victory over Stefan Edberg in 1985.

So there they were, two of the few real adults who have stood the test of time on the tennis tour, hidden away on Court 25. And refreshingly, neither complained about it.

“My ego isn’t big enough to care about stuff like that,” Flach said, “and neither is Paul’s.”

A footnote for the day on Court 25: Flach and Graham lost their match when Graham served a netcord in the final game, Davids hit a winner off it, and the chair umpire didn’t hear it. When Flach questioned the chair umpire about it, she had to lean forward to hear him because a plane was taking off and a train was going by.