Tennis: Dent caught in U.S.-Australian tug-of-war

Richard Dunn

Taylor Dent would be playing for the U.S. Davis Cup team this

weekend in a first-round tie against Slovakia if his back was healthy.

Dent, of Newport Beach, turned down a spot on the team, U.S. Captain

Patrick McEnroe said, because he wanted to rest his back from an injury

that developed last month at the Australian Open, where Dent advanced to

the third round in his debut in Melbourne.

The former Corona del Mar High standout, whose father, Phil, was once

Australia’s top tennis player, has reportedly been lured by both the

Australian and U.S. Davis Cup teams.

Dent, 20, could be eligible to play for the Aussies if he chose to

become an Australian citizen, but Dent has said his loyalties are with

the U.S.

“I’m definitely, probably, heading toward that direction, but I

haven’t made any clear-cut decision,” said Dent, who has suffered from

back problems throughout his career, but recently saw a specialist in

Vail, Colo., and appears on the mend.

Phil Dent said the apparent tug-of-war between the U.S. and Australian

Davis Cup teams for his son’s services “has been blown out of proportion.

It’s not as big a deal as everyone’s making it out to be.”

After reaching the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time in

his career, Taylor Dent became the center of attention in a dispute

between two of the sport’s superpowers.

Although he was ranked 129th at the time and had won just 10 of 23

matches last year, Dent has shown remarkable potential. At Wimbledon last

year, he recorded a 144-mph serve, the fastest ever on the hallowed grass

courts.

Australian Davis Cup Captain John Fitzgerald has said he would like

Dent to play for Australia, where fans embraced Dent at the Australian

Open after hearing what Fitzgerald said. Australia’s Davis Cup team is

lacking depth after Lleyton Hewitt and Mark Philippoussis.

Phil Dent has expressed an interest in seeing his son play for

Australia and Australian officials were quick to show their support,

giving Taylor a wild card into the Australian Open and putting him on

center court in front of a full house.

The U.S. Davis Cup team, which will host Slovakia in Oklahoma City

Friday through Sunday, features Pete Sampras, Todd Martin, Andy Roddick,

James Blake and Mardy Fish.

Dent, whose world ranking is close to cracking the top 100, is one of

the rare players on the Association of Tennis Professionals Tour who

coaches himself.

A full slate of CIF section champions from throughout California, as

well as top boys tennis teams in other parts of the country, will clash

in a national invitational hosted by Corona del Mar High at the Palisades

Tennis Club.

The third annual CdM National High School All-American Invitational,

created to define the best teams in the nation from public and private

schools, will be without two-time defending champion Peninsula.

Tournament director Tim Mang, the CdM coach, said Peninsula Coach Tom

Cox has a commitment during the two-day event March 22-23 and could not

get a qualified assistant coach to replace him.

However, Mang said one of the top boys high school teams in Australia,

St. Joseph’s College of Brisbane, Queensland, is coming to the

tournament.

The Aussie team, which apparently has commitments from its top four

players, still needs to be approved to play in the event by the CIF

Southern Section. Mang said age is the biggest red flag. The section does

not allow athletes over 18 to participate in any CIF-sanctioned sporting

event and there’s some concern an Australian player “might be 19,” Mang

said.

St. Joseph’s won the Australian high school championship in 1998 and

finished as runner-up in ’99. “Their coach (head master Dr. Brenden

McManus) said they’re always in the top four in the nation,” Mang said.

“With this team, I think it’s a great switch (with Peninsula). It could

be really good for us ... maybe we can contact the other (top) teams from

Australia for next year.”

A bracket for the 16-team tournament has yet to be released, but Mang

said University, which features three nationally ranked players, will be

seeded first. CdM, Menlo (Atherton), Harvard-Westlake (North Hollywood)

and Clovis West (Fresno) are among the tournament’s powerhouses.

Mills (Millbrae), Horace Mann (Riverdale, N.Y.), Brophy College Prep

(Phoenix, Ariz.), Jesuit (Sacramento), Monta Vista (Cupertino) and Christ

Church Episcopal (Greensville, S.C.) are among the returning teams from

last year, when Peninsula defeated Corona del Mar, 7-2, in the

championship match.

While not every national-caliber tennis team in the country is present

for numerous reasons (such as travel restrictions, or economic

hardships), the core of the tournament no doubt features elite teams.

Newport Harbor High senior Natalie Braverman, headed for Pepperdine,

won a tournament at Sunny Hills Racquet Club last month to earn a spot as

a wild card into the Women’s $50,000 USTA Pro Challenger at the same

location.

Local teams began competition Saturday in the Private Tennis Club

Association Challenge, a four-month, Davis Cup-style format in its second

season.

Each round is played the first Saturday of February, March, April and

May.

The Private Tennis Club Association of Orange County was formed in

1997 to improve the value of a private tennis club membership and grow

the sport of tennis. Details: (714) 349-7544.

The Pacific Coast Tennis Foundation, based in Newport Beach, has

started introductory instructional courses to help local residents play

tennis.

PCTF is dedicated to bringing more people into the sport and

attempting to help new and returning players step back onto the courts.

No more than four students are enrolled in a class, which PCTF

organizer Rick Conkey said is a niche, because most tennis classes,

whether at a private club or through a city’s parks and recreation

department, are much larger.

Once the fundamentals are obtained, PCTF is then committed to helping

players with partner-matching programs, leagues, round-robin mixers and

tournaments.

PCTF will sponsor the Newport Beach Tennis Festival Feb. 24 at the

Coronado (formerly Oakwood Apartments). Details: (949) 472-5504.