Davis Cup Possible for L.A. Area

The Palisades Club in Newport Beach and Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades are under consideration to host a future Davis Cup match and have been inspected by the Davis Cup Committee of the U.S. Tennis Assn.

Should the United States get past Brazil in a first-round match next weekend, and if, as expected, the Netherlands defeats Romania, the second-round match would be held in the United States, April 4-6.

According to the Davis Cup chairman, the players have requested a West Coast site so that their travel to tournaments in the Far East, scheduled the next week, would be made easier. Davis Cup captain Tom Gullikson requested hard courts for the matches.

“We have been looking at both facilities, and we’re pleased with both,” Bo Driskill said Thursday.

“Riviera is certainly a lovely setting. We understand that it is primarily a golf club, so it would be a challenge to make it a ‘tennis’ club. There would be some additional construction, but it’s workable.”

Both facilities would be expected to seat 4,000-4,500. The Palisades Club, formerly known as the John Wayne Tennis Club, was the site of a U.S.-South Africa Davis Cup match in 1977.

Driskill said he had discussions with Bob Kramer regarding the L.A. Tennis Center at UCLA, but there was a schedule conflict.

A decision regarding the site would be made soon after the first-round match is completed, Driskill said.

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The field for the Newsweek Champions Cup will feature nine of the world’s top 10 players, including the two Australian Open finalists: No. 1 Pete Sampras and No. 9 Carlos Moya.

The tournament, which runs March 10-16 at the Hyatt Grand Champions at Indian Wells, also includes 13 of the top 15 players, vying for a $2.2-million purse.

In addition to Sampras and Moya, the field includes No. 2 Goran Ivanisevic, No. 3 Thomas Muster, No. 4 Michael Chang, the defending champion; No. 5 Yevgeny Kafelnikov, No. 7 Marcelo Rios, No. 8 Wayne Ferreira and No. 10 Thomas Enqvist.

Andre Agassi, who has dropped to No. 12, is also entered.