Elite status provides unbridled joy to Ecuador

Elite status provides unbridled joy to Ecuador

QUITO, July 17: Ecuador is celebrating a momentous tennis Davis Cup victory over Great Britain that has earned them a place in the elite 16-Nation World Group.

The victory, achieved at the bastion of British tennis, Wimbledon on Monday, dominated conversation and earned a rare place in the sun for the tiny country.

Ecuadoreans in the capital Quito had to listen to the match on the radio and when 17-year-old Giovanni Lapentti, ranked 959th in the World, sealed the tie by beating Britain's Arvind Parmar 4-6, 3-6, 6-1, 6-3, 6-3 it was all too much for the commentators.

Three radio stations covered the match -- they were Cre, Caravana and Atalaya.

``Excellent work by Giovanni,'' sobbed one commentator at the finish. Throughout the match he had been shouting ``Come on, Come on, You can do it.''

Ecuador has experienced many difficulties in recent years including a coup D'Etat last year and the feel good factor was much in evidence after the historic win.

Giovanni upstaged his more heralded brother and team-mate, Nicolas, ranked number eight in the world.

In Guayaquil, the home town of the Lapenttis, people only found out by word of mouth -- Ecuador's position in the Andes makes it difficult for the whole country to receive radio transmissions.

Former president of the Ecuadorean Tennis Federation Mario Canesa said: ``thanks to all these boys who have given me so much happiness.''

Meanwhile, former Ecuador star Andres Gomez, whose victory in the 1990 French Open was a landmark sporting achievement for his country and the only triumph by a player of that nationality in a Grand Slam, explained that the fact that the victory was at Wimbledon made it all the sweeter.

``The mysticism surrounding Wimbledon makes the heart suddenly thump much harder than in any other place,'' said Gomez.

``(Wimbledon) has a special aura that none of the other Grand Slam venues have. It does not matter if you are Spanish, Argentinian, Asian or African. That is why it is different to the other tournaments.''

Giovanni upstaged his more heralded brother and was praised by another former Ecuadorian Davis Cup player Ricardo Icaza.

``To say that he has reached the level of Andres Gomez is premature,'' said Icaza. ``He still has a long way to go.''

Another former Ecuadorean player, Fabricio Valdivieso, said: ``He (Giovanni) must be guided appropriately and he has a lot to do to improve his technical and mental time but there are few players of his age, in reality, who could have done what he did today.''

It was in Ecuador's Galapagos islands that British anthropologist Charles Darwin formulated his theory of evolution. On Monday's evidence it is British tennis that is heading for extinction while Ecuador's tennis is evolving rapidly and successfully.