MILAN, Italy -- The Davis Cup may be a priority for Sweden, but it isn't for everyone -- notably Pete Sampras.
The Scandinavians had little trouble wrapping up their second straight title by beating Italy 4-1 on an indoor clay court this weekend, making it three triumphs since 1994 and seven overall."Normally, tennis is an individual sport. It's not often you get to play for a team. Davis Cup is really the only chance," doubles player Nicklas Kulti said. "It's just an unbelievable feeling to win it for your country."
But with interest in the event static and an increasingly crowded calendar, the International Tennis Federation is studying ways to bring more stars such as top-ranked Sampras into the fold.
ITF president Brian Tobin on Sunday said changes could be in store for the competition, though not before 2001.
Proposals include cutting matches in early rounds to best-of-3 sets, giving the returning finalist nations first-round byes, and trying to convince the ATP Tour to award rankings points for Davis Cup matches.
"Does that get (Pete) Sampras or whoever to play? Believe me, we are looking at the options," Tobin said.
Neither Sampras or No. 6 Andre Agassi played in the semifinals, when the United States was ousted by Italy.
Citing personal goals, primarily his pursuit of Roy Emerson's record 12 Grand Slam tournament titles, Sampras has played Davis Cup just once since leading the United States to the 1995 title.
"We absolutely congratulate (Sampras) on being No. 1 in the world for the sixth time," Tobin said, "but there's also talk about him trying to match Roy Emerson's record as a tennis player and a tennis champion.
"I'm not knocking Pete, but just sit back for a minute and have a look at the two records. Pete has 11 Grand Slams and two Davis Cups. Emerson has 12 Grand Slams and eight Davis Cup final wins on his record. So how would you compare the two?"
Sweden handled Italy without using its two best clay-courters. Thomas Johansson, ranked 17th by the ATP Tour, and No. 22 Thomas Enqvist are both injured.
In fact, No. 31 Gustafsson was the highest ranking singles player here, making it the first final in the 99-year history of the Davis Cup without anyone ranked in the top 30 in the world.