An Irish tennis team minus Owen Casey is unusual but this is the enforced reality for next month's European championship in Belfast. Due to coaching exams, Casey is unable to team up with Ireland's number one Scott Barron for the first-division tournament on December 5th-7th.
The Dubliner has been a regular on Davis Cup teams for the past seven years but is now pursuing a career in coaching since quitting the satellite circuits last summer. He intends, though, to continue with his international career. The Irish team picked for Belfast has a particularly youthful ring about it. US based scholarship students John Doran, Tom Hamilton and George McGill join the experienced Barron while Sean Cooper, a Dublin teenager who has recently qualified for two weeks of maindraw action on the Central African satellite circuit, has been drafted into the squad, captained by Peter Wright.
Spain and Denmark are the more formidable sides in the division. Ireland meet Spain, to be powered by Fernando Vicente and Alberto Martin, on December 6th. Team manager Wright is likely to decide on the choice for the second singles place on the basis of sets played in practice.
Ken Carlsen , ranked 81 in the world, is likely to be Denmark's top player. Switzerland are the fourth team involved in the group.
Meanwhile, Wimbledon saw its profits increase by 6 per cent this year to a record £31 million - and part of that rise must be due to the form of Greg Rusedski and Tim Henman.
Interest in British tennis has boomed out of all proportions in the past two years, with "Henmania" at its peak at Wimbledon this year and "Gregmania" soaring to new heights in the past three months. Next year's figure could be even higher if both Rusedski and Henman continue to improve.
Their crowd-pulling attraction helped Wimbledon to set a record attendance of 436,531 this year, 51,000 higher than 1996, and a record 12.9 million TV audience watched Henman win his third round match with Paul Haarhuis on `People's Sunday.' Similar viewing figures were reached when Henman met Michael Stich and Rusedski played Cedric Pioline in the quarter-finals.
Rusedski will take part in the eight-man Colonial Classic tournament in Melbourne in January, it was announced yesterday. He will line up against Pete Sampras, Michael Chang, Yevgeny Kafel nikov, Gustavo Kuerten, Goran Ivanisevic, Mark Philippoussis and Andre Agassi.
While the British number one was second to Ivanisevic in the number of aces served this year, Rusedski has the best second serve on the ATP tour and was also joint leader in percentage of service games won.
Service Leaders
Aces: 1 G Ivanisevic (Cro) 1,048, in 71 matches: 2 G Rusedski (Brit) 989, in 71: 3 R Krajicek (Neth) 987, in 68.
First-serve percentage: 1 A Berasategui (Spa) 73%, 2 A Costa (Spa) 69%, 3 M Filippini (Uru) 68%.
First serve points won: 1 Krajicek 86%, 2 Rusedski 84%, 3 Ivanisevic 83%.
Second serve points won: 1 Rusedski 54%, 2 M Rios (Chi) 53%, 3 M Chang (US) 53%.
Service games won: 1 Rusedski 91%, 2 Krajicek 91%, 3 P Sampras (US) 91%.
Break points saved: 1 Ivanisevic 71%, 2 Rusedski 69%, 3 T Muster (Aut) 68%.
