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Jimmy Connors, deciding not to appeal recent...

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Jimmy Connors, deciding not to appeal recent sanctions placed against him, paid a $20,000 fine and began a 10-week suspension. The Men’s International Professional Tennis Council, which invoked the penalty, made the announcement in New York.

Connors, 33, fourth-ranked men’s player in the world, will not be able to play in a sanctioned tournament until June 9. The suspension makes Connors the first player to be suspended for misconduct through one of the four Grand Slam tournaments. The French Open, the only Grand Slam tournament Connors has never won, begins May 26 and ends June 8.

The penalties against Connors result from his refusal to continue play in a semifinal match against Ivan Lendl in the Lipton International Players Championships at Boca Raton, Fla., Feb. 21. The dispute began over a line call in the fifth set and ended when the chair umpire defaulted Connors after assessing a time violation and three code violations.

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He was fined $5,000 at the time by Ken Farrar, the chief MIPTC supervisor. The additional $20,000 fine and 10-week suspension were levied after further investigation by the MIPTC.

“It is the position of the Council that there is a special public trust between a professional tennis player, and the fans who pay to see him play that should never be breached,” said Michael Davies, chairman of the nine-man pro council. “Here we had a serious breach when Jimmy refused to play and caused himself to be defaulted.”

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