Monday, 7/21/97 Former Bruin, big guns ready to fire at Los Angeles Tennis Center
By Mark Shapiro Daily Bruin Staff As the hardcourt tennis season heats up on the road to the U.S. Open, the professional tennis tour brings its version of the 7th Artillery to the Los Angeles Tennis Center. The Infiniti Open, which kicks off Monday on the slick LATC asphalt, has been a playground for fast servers, as past champions Pete Sampras, Boris Becker and Richard Krajicek can attest. This year, it looks more like a testing ground for rocket launching as four of the fastest servers in the world stand primed to fire. Australian Mark Philippoussis, who holds the world's record for fastest serve at 142.3 mph, is first on the list, but with his No. 13 ranking, he is not the No. 1 seed. That honor will go to Goran Ivanisevic and his 136 mph serve. Ivanisevic, who is ranked third in the world, leads the ATP Tour in match wins and service aces this year. These two will be joined by Thomas Enqvist of Sweden, who is ranked seventh in the world and boasts a 134 mph serve, and Richard Krajicek, who won the Infiniti Open last year behind his 136 mph serve. Andre Agassi, missing in action on the tour until last week, will also play. Coming off a loss last week, Agassi will be tuning up for the U.S. Open. Also representing the crew from across the big pond will be British phenom Tim Henman, who raced to the quarterfinals of Wimbledon and the No. 18 ranking. Joining the foreign legions will be a lengthy list of American entries seeking not only to silence the booming serves, but to quiet talk of U.S. tennis becoming a second-rate power. Heading up the star-spangled crew will be a pair of veterans whose recent play has done little to quiet the critics. Jim Courier, who earned the No. 1 ranking in 1992, has fallen steadily since then and is clutching to the bottom rung of the top 30 coming into the tournament. Fellow American Todd Martin has suffered a similar slide. He spent 1996 ranked in the top 20, but injuries that kept him out of this year's French Open and Wimbledon have sent his ranking tumbling to No. 33. They will be joined by a contingent of American players looking to make a name for themselves a few weeks before the U.S. Open. Alex O'Brien is the brightest of these rising stars, climbing to the 32nd ranking behind four quarterfinal appearances this year. He also played in the Davis Cup against Brazil. Vince Spadea, Doug Flach and Justin Gimelstob are three others who are primed to make their move. Spadea reached eight quarterfinals last year and won the Rolex Orange Bowl as a junior. Flach, ranked 174th, has two victories against Andre Agassi to his credit, including one last week at the Legg Mason Classic. Gimelstob has reached a pair of quarterfinals as a pro and amateur and upset French Open champion Gustavo Kuerten at Wimbledon this year. The Infiniti Open will also be a homecoming of sorts for Gimelstob who played at UCLA for two years before joining the professional tour last year. After spending his freshman year at No. 2 singles, Gimelstob stepped into the spotlight in 1996, leading the Bruins to an undefeated regular season and the NCAA finals. During that illustrious campaign, he garnered All-American honors with his 28-3 overall record and No. 2 ranking in the country. He also won a national championship in doubles with partner Srdjan Muskatirovic. Gimelstob went undefeated at the LATC, posting a 14-0 record on Court 1, the court that will serve as center court during the tournament. Gimelstob's first round opponent is Andre Agassi, so he will have his hands full in hopes of trying to reach a 15-0 record on Court 1. The finals for both the 32-player singles draw and the 16-team doubles draw will be played on July 27. The Open is the second major tournament to be played at UCLA this year. In May, the LATC hosted the 1997 NCAA championships. Previous Daily Bruin Story: Chang brings focus to Infiniti, 8/5/96