Despite Walkout, Connors Will Still Play at La Quinta

Poor Jimmy Connors. Everywhere he goes, the 33-year-old professional tennis player is told he’s too old to play anymore.

Connors too old? Not so.

Anyone who saw him argue line calls and storm off the court Friday in the Lipton International Players Championship at Boca Raton, Fla., knows Connors can still act like a child.

His default to Ivan Lendl in the semifinals was an incredible display of petulance, even for Connors. The Men’s International Professional Tennis Council will decide next week what action will be taken. Connors could be suspended from 21 days to one year and fined from $5,000 to $20,000.

Because of the 10-day appeal period, no action taken against Connors will affect his participation in the $405,000 Pilot Pen tournament, which begins Monday at the La Quinta Hotel Tennis Club near Palm Springs.

The 56-draw event will be exciting if it can match only a portion of the fireworks put forth at the International Players Championship.

However, the La Quinta tournament doesn’t need controversy to draw a crowd. Playing, in addition to Connors, will be Boris Becker, Mats Wilander, Yannick Noah and Scott Davis.

Becker’s fortunes have ebbed and flowed since he won Wimbledon last year at age 17. He lost to Joakim Nystrom in the fourth round of the 1985 Australian Open, then played brilliantly at the Masters in New York, losing only to Lendl in the final.

It’s back on the down side, now. At Boca Raton, Becker was knocked out early in singles but reached the doubles semifinals with partner Slobodan Zivojinovic. Still, Becker must look forward to the respite in the desert--he is bringing the entire West German Davis Cup team with him in preparation for their match against Mexico in two weeks.

This will be Becker’s first professional appearance in Southern California, as it will be for Wilander. Wilander is the highest-ranked player in the draw, No. 3. UCLA’s Brad Pearce is a wild-card entry.

Notable players withdrawing from the tournament are Brad Gilbert, Tim Mayotte, Paul Annacone, Henrik Sundstrom and Heinz Gunthardt.

Returning to the tour after a six-month layoff after elbow surgery is Eliot Teltscher. Pat Cash, who has suffered with back problems, will play doubles only.

Finals are set for March 2.