Tennis : When Edberg Won at Wimbledon, Baton Rouge Became a Winner, Too

When Stefan Edberg dropped to his knees and fell back in celebration on the Centre Court grass at Wimbledon, a predictable wave of happiness swept over Vastervik, Sweden . . . and Baton Rouge, La.

Vastervik, of course, is the place the London-based Edberg still calls home--where he grew up and learned to play tennis, where his parents still live.

And Baton Rouge?

The story began more than a year ago when the director of an inner-city youth tennis group in Baton Rouge began a campaign to bring Edberg to the South for an exhibition match and clinic.

“(The director) kept saying, ‘If there’s anything we can do to get him to Baton Rouge . . . ‘ “ said Tom Ross, Edberg’s agent. “So, after he chased him (Edberg) for a year, we signed a deal four months ago. There was a break in Stefan’s schedule before the Canadian Open.”

Some break for the Louisiana Junior Tennis Program Inc. When Edberg arrives Aug. 5 in Baton Rouge, it will be his first appearance in the United States since he beat Boris Becker to win Wimbledon.

Suddenly, the simple matter of conducting a clinic has escalated into a major civic event.

Among other things, Edberg will be presented with a key to the city from Baton Rouge’s mayor. And, to accommodate the demand for tickets, the organizers had to move the site of Edberg’s match against Paul Annacone to a bigger facility, Louisiana State’s Assembly Center.

However, all was not achieved without a few nervous moments on the part of the organizers. The closer Edberg got to his first Wimbledon title, the more worried they became in Baton Rouge--thinking that their man wouldn’t show.

Every night, Ross assured the director of the youth program, yes, Stefan would make good on his promise.

“After Stefan won, the guy asked me, ‘Please, can you go on this local radio show and tell them he’s still coming?’ ” Ross said.

This type of excitement traditionally surrounding Wimbledon winners is something Ross has noted by watching the careers of Becker and Pat Cash. The Edberg brain trust does not want a repeat of Pat Cash’s summer of 1987, which could have been called The Overbooking of a Champion.

“We’re not going to get into the situation Cash had in the summer tournaments,” Ross said. “What stuck in my mind is that Cash was saying at the U.S. Open that he didn’t have a day off after winning Wimbledon. I assure you that won’t happen with Stefan.”

Edberg, in fact, already has taken some time off, spending 10 days in southern France with his girlfriend. This weekend, he is representing Sweden in a Davis Cup match against France and will probably play in two U.S. Open tuneup events.

After the post-Wimbledon whirlwind--complete with photographers camped in his yard--Edberg was quick to realize the possible pitfalls of this special kind of instant fame.

Said Ross: “When we had dinner on Tuesday night, we went over some business. At the end, he said, ‘We’ve really got to pace ourselves if this kind of attention is going to continue.’ ”

Win Some, Lose Some: After losing top-seeded Martina Navratilova last week because of an injury, the Virginia Slims of Los Angeles learned the surprising news that Tracy Austin will be entering the doubles field of the Aug. 8-14 tournament.

Austin, once the world’s top-ranked female player, hasn’t played a tournament in more than four years because of chronic back and neck injuries. Jeff Austin, her agent and older brother, reports that she is finally playing pain-free and is enjoying the game more.

Austin, who will team with Mary Joe Fernandez in Los Angeles, will also play doubles with Robin White in the Slims of San Diego, set for Aug. 1-7.

Interestingly, Austin’s last singles tournament victory came in San Diego, at the Wells Fargo event in July, 1982.

“I hope to play singles again in the future,” Austin said in a press release. “But for right now, I am starting with doubles to see how I do.”

Tennis Notes

Here are the top-ranked players in the Southern California Tennis Assn. for 1987, in the various junior and senior divisions: Men’s singles: 30--Scott Carnahan (South Laguna); 35--John Lowman (Los Angeles); 40--Terry Ehlers (El Toro); 45--Herman Ahlers (Dana Point); 50--Len Lindborg (Fountain Valley); 55--Whitney Reed (West Los Angeles); 60--Ed Kauder (Beverly Hills); 65--David Martin (San Marcos); 70--Dan Walker (South Gate); 75--William Conel (Oceanside).

Women’s singles: 35--Dee Williams-Horne (Pasadena); 40--Uta Hegberg (Oceanside); 45--Sally Moore Huss (Irvine); 50--Louella Parsons (Carpinteria); 55--Rosemary Rea (Redlands) and Beverly Winans (Newport Beach); 60--Dorothy Cheney (Santa Monica); 65--Cheney; 70--Cheney.

Junior Boys’ singles: 18--Pete Sampras (Rancho Palos Verdes); 16--Willy Quest (Long Beach); 14--Jonathan Leach (Laguna Beach); 12--Timothy Radogna (West Covina). Junior Girls’ singles: 18--Debbie Graham (Fountain Valley); 16--Kimberly Po (Rolling Hills); 14--Akiko Gooden (Los Angeles); 12--Nicole London (Palos Verdes).

In other junior tennis news, Jonathan Leach and Bill Behrens have been named to the United States Tennis Assn.’s national traveling team. Behrens, who is headed to UCLA this fall, is playing in the 18-and-under division, and Leach is competing in the 16s.