By Chris Umpierre
Daily Bruin Staff
If Monday night’s charity match is any indication, Dennis
Miller will be a hit with fans when he enters the announcer’s
booth for Monday Night Football.
The comedian was a laugh-a-minute during the Mercedes-Benz
Cup’s ninth annual “A Night At the Net” charity
spectacular. In a pro-celebrity doubles match, Miller teamed up
with the No. 14 ranked player on the ATP Tour, Mark Philippoussis,
against French Open Champion Michael Chang and three-time Oscar
winner Dustin Hoffman.
The event benefited MusiCares, the charitable foundation of the
Recording Academy.
Miller, who was recently hired to be a commentator for Monday
Night Football, had numerous witty one-liners throughout the
night.
“C’mon Dustin, lets rock,” he said before a
Hoffman serve. “I’ve got a rugby charity match right
after this.
“It’s not the movies babe, you don’t get 15
takes,” Miller said, joking with Hoffman.
“Time to hit the ball, don’t go rainman on
me,” said Miller, referring to Hoffman’s hit movie
“The Rainman,” in which Hoffman played an autistic man
in an Oscar-winning performance.
Hoffman, who seemed to have hit the courts before the event,
turned some heads as he hit the ball quite well during
warm-ups.
One of those heads was Miller’s.
“Are you shitting me, Dustin? Are you that good?”
Miller said, who had some trouble getting the ball over the net.
“I thought this was some screw around charity
match.”
Philippoussis, whose serve has been clocked from 120 to 130 mph,
had his opening serve broken by the team of Hoffman and Chang. Both
Philippoussis and Chang took it easy on the two celebrities.
For the record, Miller and Philippoussis won the match 4-3 after
a five-point tiebreaker.
The charity doubles match was preceded by some introductions, a
tribute to a former player, and a performance by R&B singer
Tracie Spencer.
Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan was on hand for the event and
spoke before the match.
“This is a great night,” Riordan said. “I
usually get booed at sporting events, so this is good. Thank you
for loving tennis and thank you for loving Los Angeles.”
Alex Olmedo, a former Wimbledon and Australian Open champion,
was honored as the 2000 Mercedes-Benz Cup tournament honoree. He
was also inducted into the Southern California Tennis Association
Hall of Fame.
“Being inducted into the SCTA Hall of Fame is a great
honor,” Olmedo said.
“Joining such an elite group, and to be acknowledged as
one of the top players in the history of Southern California tennis
is something I will always treasure.”
. . .
In a battle of two up and coming players, former Bruin Justin
Gimelstob and Australian James Sekulov locked horns in the
night’s only match after the charity event.
No. 84 Gimelstob, 23, dispatched Sekulov, also 23, in two sets
6-3, 6-3 in a first round Mercedes-Benz Cup match.
Gimelstob, who reached the semifinals of the Mercedes-Benz Cup
in 1998, had little difficulty with the Australian. The 6-foot-5
right-hander continually attacked Sekulov’s backhand, winning
points at will.
The former UCLA standout had his serve broken just once.
Gimelstob spearheaded UCLA to the 1996 Division I men’s
tennis national championship game, where the Bruins lost to
Stanford. That same year Gimelstob won the individual doubles title
and placed second in singles.
He will likely have his hands full for his next match in the
tournament. He will likely play No. 14 Mark Philippoussis, who
faces Vince Spadea on Wednesday.