Mirnyi beastly force for small nation of Belarus
CHARLESTON, S.C. -- The "Beast of Belarus" is in this lovely seaside town on a mission to enthrall his 10 million countryfolk, from President Aleksandr Lukashenko on down. That includes Mikael Pavlov, the mayor of his hometown, Minsk, plus the mob of two Belarusian journalists covering the Beast's heavy task of beating the United States on a local tennis court.
The Beast, born as Max Mirnyi 27 years ago, and grown to 6 feet 5 inches, can't win this Davis Cup semifinal, a best-of-five series, all by himself, of course. He's getting some help from another Minsk lad, Vladimir Voltchkov. But it's clear that as the Beast goes, so goes Belarus.
Can this mouse roar? Well, Belarus, a 13-year-old chip off the (Soviet) bloc, debuting in the Cup's elite World Group of 16 nations, has astounded Russia, 3-2, and Argentina, 5-0, to get to the last four, and Mirnyi says, "The pressure is on the Americans. They're at home and everybody expects them to win."
After beating Russia, Mirnyi was decorated by an elated and grateful Lukashenko with a medal for distinguished service, the country's highest honor. Voltchkov, 26, was commended, too, with a secondary order.
"We know everybody will be watching on TV," Mirnyi says. "It's a special occasion. Everything we do in Davis Cup is very much publicized, and we are proud of it. We don't have many courts or players, but interest in tennis is rising fast. Davis Cup helps."
"They're great guys, and they're having a great year," concedes US captain Patrick McEnroe, whose team eliminated Austria, 5-0, and Sweden, 4-1. "We just don't want to make it a phenomenal year for them."
What the Americans -- Andy Roddick, Mardy Fish, Mike and Bob Bryan -- do want is to make Minsk meat of the visitors, and advance to the late November final against either France or Spain. Thirsting during the second-longest US drought (nine years since the last drink from the Cup), the homeboys see this team campaign as "a last hurrah." Those are the words of Mike Bryan, who shares tomorrow's doubles court with lefthanded twin Bob.
His mates nod in agreement, having been scarred and tethered in the recent US Open. Roddick, opening this afternoon against Voltchkov, was supposed to confront Roger Federer in the final, but forgot to beat No. 30 Joachim Johansson, in the quarters. Fish, No, 28, hooking up with Mirnyi in today's afterpiece, blew the Olympic gold medal to Nicolas Massu, and vanished at the Open in the second round, stiffed by qualifier Michal Tabara. Third-round losers to no-names Julien Benneteau and Nicolas Mahut, the Bryans have skidded from No. 1 to No. 7, failing to retain their major of 2003, the French title.
Wimbledon finalist Roddick, No. 2 behind Federer, says of the season barren of majors, "We've been really close to picking up serious hardware this year, but we didn't get to where we wanted to be. We had good tournaments, but we weren't the last people standing. So I think this is, by far, our primary focus for the rest of the year. It can definitely help us to salvage those other tournaments."
Although his name, Mirnyi, means peaceful in Russian, genial Max was rebaptized "Beast" while playing in the minors a few years ago because of the ferocious way he goes at his work: slam-bang. One of the shrinking tribe of serve-and-volleyers, he forces constantly, digging in at the net.
"We're young and small," Mirnyi says of Belarus, merely in its 10th year of Cup competition. "But Davis Cup, playing for our country, brings out something extra in us."
Win or lose this weekend, the Belarusian uprising is, indeed, phenomenal for a country with only two recognized players: Mirnyi, No. 63, and Voltchkov, No. 162. Rounding out the team, teenagers Alexander Skrypko, 18, and Andrei Karatchenya, 15, are not to be found on the computer.
Dwight Davis, the Harvard kid who donated the Cup 104 years ago to promote international mingling through sport, would love these Belarusians. They're testimony that the format gives a struggling country with only two players a winning chance. The most recent duo to knock out the US were Petr Korda and Daniel Vacek of the Czech Republic in 1996, playing all the matches in a 3-2 quarterfinal decision. However, the Czechs, with a long tradition, were stocked with numerous world-class players.
Voltchkov, hoping he's fully recovered from tendinitis in his left wrist, and Mirnyi would be the first to tell you that they couldn't have done it without American help and encouragement. Brought by their fathers to the US as teenagers to nurture obvious tennis talent, Voltchkov did so in Brooklyn, Mirnyi at Nick Bollettieri's boot camp at Bradenton, Fla.
You may recall the stocky Voltchkov's meteoric Wimbledon of 2000, a qualifier spurting to the semifinals, where he gave the champ, Pete Sampras, a decent joust. That feat tied John McEnroe's 1977 record for qualifying success.
Vladimir's training regimen included regular moviehouse visits to soak up the against-the-odds flick "Gladiator." He pictured himself as an outnumbered gladiator at Wimbledon, and again this year as he was carried off the court by teammates after beating Mikhail Youzhny to clinch the victory over Russia.
The US should win, 4-1, but strange things happen in Davis Cup when guys cast aside individual identity and carry their country on their backs. Sometimes beasts take wing.
