Courier, Gilbert Get Berths Over Patrick McEnroe for Davis Cup

In a mild surprise, the U.S. Davis Cup team was announced Tuesday, and Patrick McEnroe wasn’t on it.

Instead, when Tom Gorman, captain of the defending champions, revealed the squad that will play its delayed first-round match against Mexico, Jim Courier and Brad Gilbert were the choices.

The snub of McEnroe was revealing since John McEnroe’s younger brother may be the hottest American player on the pro tour. Two weeks ago, he reached the final and lost to his brother in an all-McEnroe championship match in Chicago, and Monday, he knocked off No. 2-ranked Boris Becker in the Lipton International Players Championship. He lost to Marc Rosset on Tuesday.

However, the younger McEnroe has no Davis Cup experience, and the U.S. Tennis Assn. clearly did not want to pair two singles players who have not played a Cup match. Courier, ranked No. 18, will make his Cup debut in the matches March 29-31 in Mexico City.

Gilbert, a Davis Cup veteran, is coming off an injury that forced him out of the Newsweek Champions Cup.

Neither Courier nor Gilbert was Gorman’s original choice, but after the Persian Gulf War forced postponement of the match from late January, Andre Agassi had to pull out because of a schedule conflict, and Aaron Krickstein was injured.