It Takes Two to Tarango for USC Job

The prospective job applicant was talking in a hushed tone on his cell phone from the historic Il Foro Italico in Rome recently, watching Andy Roddick’s late-night match against Wayne Ferreira of South Africa.

Discussion of his Holy Grail was put on hold; after all, it would be embarrassing to hear an announcement about cell phones needing to be turned off in the legendary tennis cathedral.

A couple of hours later, the prospective applicant was ready to talk about the attractive job up for grabs at USC, the chance to succeed men’s tennis Coach Dick Leach, who is retiring after this season. Well, he wasn’t quite ready to chat. First, he was still talking to Roddick about possibly playing doubles together at the UCLA tournament in July.

So, was the mystery candidate Rick Leach? No. Been there and done that, as an assistant to his father.

It was none other than Jeff Tarango.

Of course, there have been odd couples in sports, but this could crack the top 10. Think about his interview with Athletic Director Mike Garrett. You could probably sell tickets to that.

But, seriously, Tarango is serious, even though he has heard that the school is leaning toward hiring an established collegiate coach. USC officials indicated that is the likely route, and those close to the program had not heard his name among the possibilities.

Longest shot or not, Tarango wanted to make a case for his candidacy. For him, a sizable income drop would not be an issue. He has earned more than $3.5 million in his career, including $313,099 last year.

“Obviously I have a few more years I can play on the tour,” said the 33-year-old Tarango, who grew up in Manhattan Beach. “And make a lot more money than I would being coach there.”

Roddick had something to say, of course, chiming in: “Jeff, you’re going to play forever!”

Come to think of it, that Tarango-Roddick doubles partnership might be entertaining. Who gets in the last word?

Tarango enjoys helping the Roddicks of the world on an informal basis, viewing it as on-the-job training.

“A lot of times, I help the guys who are around,” Tarango said. “How I’ve played on tour and in my matches, it’s very obvious that I understand the strategic part of the game, and being a student of Robert Lansdorp, I know all about the technical side.

“I’m a kinder, gentler Robert Lansdorp.”

We’ll take his word for it. Which is to say he’s probably never made any of his pupils cry.

Though Tarango went to Stanford, turning pro after his junior year, he has strong ties to the Trojans, established long before he won two singles titles, 14 doubles championships and reached the 1999 French Open doubles final with Goran Ivanisevic on the tour.

“My whole family went to USC,” he said. “My dad went to the engineering school. My uncle finished No. 1 in the law school, and I had another uncle who went to another graduate school at ‘SC. I grew up 19 minutes away in Manhattan Beach.

“This job only opens up about once every 25 years. I would prefer to play three or four more years on the tour, finish up my schooling at Stanford. Do the whole conservative route. If they wanted me to graduate from ‘SC, I’d do that and then I’d be an ‘SC alum.”

Going the conservative route has rarely been an option for Tarango. He is smart, opinionated and funny. His highest career ranking in singles was 42, and had Tarango been talented enough to crack the top 10, the ATP probably wouldn’t have needed to start the “New Balls, Please” campaign. His postmatch news conferences would have been standing-room-only affairs, just a notch below the musings of Ivanisevic.

You ask Tarango a question and the answer is rarely predictable. If he were to be interviewed by USC, of course, there is the famous matter of his Wimbledon default in 1995 after he walked off the court and his wife slapped the chair umpire, Bruno Rebeuh. Tarango was later fined $15,500 and suspended from Wimbledon for a year.

“Actually I’m putting [Wimbledon referee] Alan Mills as one of my references,” Tarango said. “He was right there in the front line and saw everything as soon as I walked off the court. I’ll let the ATP findings stand for itself. If anything, it showed I’m someone who is very into the rules. I understand organization and tradition and how things need to be handled.

“Sometimes it’s better to walk away from an incident rather than do something that will damage everyone who is there. I kind of took the existential way out there. If I had pulled the guy out by his tie out of the chair and beaten him senseless, that probably wouldn’t have been the better thing to do.”

Jeff Tarango, Mike Garrett and Alan Mills. Just another fascinating day in Tarango’s world.

Locally

Italian Open finalist and Australian Open semifinalist Tommy Haas of Germany has entered the Mercedes-Benz Cup at UCLA, which starts July 22. Haas, who lost to Andre Agassi in straight sets in Rome, will likely be seeded second at the French Open behind Lleyton Hewitt. Haas has twice reached the third round at Roland Garros.

* French Open finalist Kim Clijsters of Belgium, Monica Seles, Jelena Dokic of Yugoslavia and Elena Dementieva of Russia have agreed to play in the JP Morgan Chase Open at Manhattan Beach, joining Serena Williams and Jennifer Capriati. The event is Aug. 4-11.

* Louise Brough Clapp, Jon Douglas, Carl Earn, Allen Fox and Karen Hantze Susman will be entering the Southern California Tennis Assn. Hall of Fame. They will be honored July 20 with an induction dinner and ceremony at Riviera Country Club. Call (310) 208-3838 for more information.