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By Moin Salahuddin

Daily Bruin Staff

Twisting his right ankle while trying to return a deft lob shot from Michael Chang in the finals of the Mercedes-Benz Cup, Jan-Michael Gambill could have stopped the match then.

After playing the week before for the United States Davis Cup team in Spain, Gambill flew to Los Angeles to play in both the singles and doubles portion of the Mercedes-Benz Cup.

The 23-year-old pushed his way to the final in both events, playing two matches a day and making his body more weary with each passing shot.

But despite hurting his ankle in the singles’ final against Chang on Sunday while attempting to protect his already banged-up left knee, Gambill took a medical timeout and decided to tough it out.

As Gambill struggled to move for the ball, everyone knew that he would have to retire from the match.

But he wouldn’t succumb that easily to his injuries, fighting on in pursuit of the win. Once Chang took the second set, Gambill finally retired from the match, at which point tournament director Bob Kramer said he showed “tremendous dedication.”

“He’s played some tough tennis,” said Chang, who is trying to resurrect his own career and started to do so with his first win in nearly three years.

With the possibility that America’s best tennis players – Andre Agassi, 30, Pete Sampras, 29, and Chang, 28, – will soon say good-bye to the game, the question is posed: who will step up?

At the Mercedes-Benz Cup last week in Los Angeles, it was clear that Gambill and former Bruin All-American Justin Gimelstob (’96), who advanced to the semifinals before losing to Chang, are priming themselves to take the throne.

“I think we’re getting ready,” said Gimelstob, who scored one of the biggest victories of his career with a three-set win over Australian Mark Philippoussis on Thursday.

The greats will be gone soon when Agassi, Chang and Sampras all join Jim Courier in the retired ranks.

“A lot of those guys have been an inspiration to me,” Gambill said.

But rather than sulk about the fact that American tennis might never be the same, people are recognizing that players with Gambill’s ability and dedication have bright futures on the professional tour.

“In the past, Jim, Andre, Pete, and I have been asked many questions about the future of American tennis,” Chang said. “I don’t know who to point to. But obviously Jan-Michael is really leading the way.”

Gambill has taken the prime role as the future of tennis in the United States, representing the U.S. in the semifinals of the Davis Cup against some of Spain’s best players.

Chang mentioned that the switch from clay in Spain to the hardcourt in Southern California is difficult, and for Gambill to have played as well as he did is a tribute to Gambill’s talent and perseverance.

“He’s got a lot of talent and there’s a lot of talented (American) players out there,” Chang said.

Gambill was recently offered a spot on the Olympic team (to join Agassi and Chang), though he had to decline due to several tour commitments.

But the state of American tennis won’t skip a heartbeat as the Changs of the tour leave and the Gambills of the tour emerge.

“I think American tennis is definitely looking much brighter with Jan-Michael and Justin and players like that,” Chang said. “We have a lot of good tennis to look forward to out here in the States.”

Not merely for the next year or two, as many feared, but for many years to come.