Becker and Stich serve up a farce

The two have patched up old differences and it was after beating Stich in an exhibition last month that Becker, who retired from competitive tennis three years ago, offered to play doubles for Germany again.

In recent years, the antics of their players have made Germany a laughing stock on the Davis Cup stage. The team members have squabbled over appearance money; who is coaching the team; who picks the players and, now, the return of a former great in whose shadow the players have to live.

The halcyon days of Becker and Steffi Graf saw Germany become the greatest European power in the sport. Then Becker and Graf retired and German tennis started to struggle, losing power in the game and vital sponsors to fund the tournaments.

When Haas emerged, it appeared German tennis had another hero, but his commitment has been questioned by demands for extra money to play for his country.

Despite boasting a talented line-up of players - Haas, Schuettler, Nicolas Kiefer and David Prinosil - Germany were hammered by Croatia 4-1 in their first-round game earlier this year, and must beat Venezuela's unknown team to remain in the world group.

It is in stark contrast to the era of Becker and Stich, who rewrote Germany's Davis Cup history in the 1980s and 1990s, but their roles in more recent chapters have been far from comfortable. Becker previously returned to the team in 1997, working with captain Carl-Uwe Steeb as both manager and doubles player, before a dispute with Kiefer prompted him to quit in 1999.

Stich, who steered Germany to their most recent Davis Cup triumph in 1993, tried his luck from October last year, when he replaced Steeb as captain. Stich persuaded Haas to reconsider his decision to abandon Davis Cup for a year, and that makes the latest instalment of the German Cup tennis soap opera even more ironic.

"I have carried out this duty with pride for a year but, unfortunately, I did not receive a great deal of support either from the players or from the German Tennis Federation," said 33-year-old Stich.

"If the team do not manage to behave as a team, those players will use many captains but they will never win the Davis Cup."

Becker, who has been hit by a costly divorce from the mother of his two sons, a settlement to a pregnant lover and a battle with tax authorities, remains a charismatic figure, and could still be an option as captain.

This, after all, is a German tennis soap opera.