Tennis: Chile hot favourite for Davis Cup tie

Nicolas Massu (Chile) says he is no hero. Picture / Greg Bowker

Dominik Hrbaty and his Slovakian teammates can expect a raucous welcome when they head on to a purpose-built court in a rodeo stadium in Rancagua for next month's World Group Davis Cup tie with Chile.

Led by double Olympic champion Nicolas Massu and his doubles team-mate and Heineken Open top seed and defending champion Fernando Gonzalez, the Chileans will have to be the hot favourites.

Anticipating a 15,000-strong turnout in the heavyweight battle for a place in the cup quarter-finals, organisers are putting down a "very slow" clay court for the tie as the hosts cash in on the unbelievable resurgence of their sport.

As in all South American countries, soccer rules. But with at best only mediocre results among the Conmebol nations, the Chileans happily adopt tennis as second choice.

The double Olympic success in Athens further boosted the stakes and profile of a sport which first hit the giddy heights when Marcelo Rios claimed world No 1 in 1998.

Winning the singles and doubles in Athens - the first two Olympic gold medals won by Chile - were Massu, insists, the "best days of my life".

Speaking after he had come from behind to beat Belgian Christophe Rochus in their second-round singles at the ASB Tennis Centre yesterday, Massu said he was very proud of his success.

A hero perhaps?

"In Chile, hero is a very big word," he said.

"I play tennis for me and my country."

He first hit a tennis ball in hometown Vina del Mar as a 5-year-old. Within five or six years he first crossed paths with Gonzalez.

It was a partnership which has endured and has now led their country to glory.

"It is so easy to play doubles together," said Massu of his 25-year-old partner Gonzalez.

"We have travelled a lot together. Initially on the South American and European circuits, now everywhere.

"I was No 1 [in Chile], he was No 1."

Sadly the gap to next best is huge, with Paul Capdeville around 140 and Adrian Garcia about 10 places lower.

"That makes it hard if I or Fernando do not play Davis Cup," said Massu.

"Like last year against Russia when I did not play.

"We want to get other players ready so Fernando and I do not have to play every match."

The sport was long based around small clubs and clay courts across the country. Now about 20 per cent of courts are hardcourt.

But courts alone will not guarantee success.

"The young players need financial help," said Massu. "I never received any assistance from the federation. I was lucky, my grandfather put in a lot of money to help me. I also had the support of my mother and father.

"Later the President put in some of his own money to assist."

While the male players have made their presence felt - Gonzalez has been to Auckland four times and Massu twice - their countrywomen have yet to make the same impact.

Their highest-ranked, Andrea Koch, is ranked 564 in the world, next best a couple of hundred places lower.

"There are no girls coming through," said Massu. "The federation is now okay, maybe things will change."

Gonzalez and Massu, two of the biggest crowd-pleasers at the Heineken Open, head to the Australian Open next week before returning home to play Chile's only ATP tournament in Massu's home town.

Then follows the Davis Cup tie and another fanfare for the pair who have taken the game to hard-to-fathom levels in a country where a much bigger round ball rules.