Tennis: Davis Cup job for Gullikson

TOM GULLIKSON has been appointed captain of the United States Davis Cup team. He succeeds Tom Gorman, who led the United States to two Davis Cup victories before resigning in September.

The announcement was made yesterday in New York by J Howard 'Bumpy' Frazer, the president of the US Tennis Association. Gullikson, 42, a retired doubles specialist who has never played in the Davis Cup, is a national coach with the USTA.

Gullikson, Stan Smith, John McEnroe and Brad Gilbert were on a short list of replacements but McEnroe, a popular choice with several leading players, withdrew from contention earlier this month because of 'personal considerations'.

Gullikson has won one singles title and 12 doubles titles in his career. His twin brother, Tim, is also a former player and is coach to Pete Sampras, the world No 1.

The former men's No 1, Stefan Edberg of Sweden, seeking his first tournament win since April, needed more than two hours and two tie-breaks to beat the American, Chuck Adams, 7-6, 7-6 in the second round of the Seiko Super tournament in Tokyo yesterday.

Edberg had trouble with his serve, hitting 10 double faults. He now faces his compatriot, Jonas Svensson, who beat Ryuso Tsujino 7-6, 6-3.