SENIOR CIRCUIT : The Tennis Is Fun and Serious

They’re not exactly the most ruthless competitors or greatest showmen--you won’t see anyone yelling at linesmen like John McEnroe, or Andre Agassi types throwing their denim shorts into a crowd of screaming fans. You probably won’t see many Steffi Graf forehands or Gabriela Sabatini topspin backhands either.

What you will see at the La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club this week at the annual senior tennis tournament is camaraderie, skill, finesse, style and athleticism.

The skills might have eroded just a tad and the stamina might not be there for the grueling five-setter anymore, but the will is still there.

“We all want to win,” said 67-year-old Lyle Lee of Palm Springs. “And I’m in great shape for the shape I’m in.”

Lee came to La Jolla with his wife, daughter and 3-year old granddaughter.

“My kids don’t get too excited about it,” Lee said. “My daughter thinks I’m going through a mid-life crisis, too late.”

A former college and semi-pro baseball player, Lee began playing tennis at 53.

“I started watching Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs, and that got me really interested,” Lee said. “I really admired Bobby Riggs for getting out there.”

Lee has never been afforded the opportunity to play Riggs on the tour, but he has played Tom Brown, who was once ranked No. 1 in the United States. Lee lost in straight sets but did win a courtesy game.

“It was just a thrill being on the same court with the man,” he said.

For Lee and most seniors, the tour is a family affair. They stay at each others homes, travel together and play together.

“Most of our best friends are on the tour,” Lee said. “We get very close.”

But for brief interludes, friendships must be forgotten.

“I was traveling to a tournament with my doubles partner and best friend, and then all of a sudden we find out we’re playing each other in the first round.”

Although she lost a second-round match in straight sets in the 60s singles here, Lovie Beard of Houston said she was fulfilled.

“I can play people everyday at home, but I can’t play these Californians all the time,” Beard said. “I want to improve my game, and I need to play these top-ranked players to do so.”

Like many of the seniors, Beard took up tennis later in life.

“I thought it was a great way of staying in shape,” said Beard, who also runs three miles a day and works part-time as a nurse.

“My biggest advantage out there is my physical ability.”

At 66, Beard said she’s still attempting to pass some of the old pros who played junior tennis.

“Most of (the late bloomers) know they’re not going to win,” she said. “I don’t think you can catch up. They may have lost a bit in some areas, but they’ve still got the touch. In the five-minute warmup, they pick all your faults out before the match has even started.”

Vilma Gordon of Santa Barbara did not play junior tennis either, but somehow her game has caught up. Self-taught, Gordon began playing 25 years ago.

“I came out here to see how far I could go,” said Gordon, seeded second in this week’s National Hardcourt Championships in the 60s singles (she advanced to the quarterfinals Thursday with a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Catherine Duke of Encino).

In the past 20 years, Gordon has won a handful of national hardcourt titles and has been ranked among the top 10 nationally in singles and doubles.

Gordon says the key to her success has been her athleticism. Gordon is a former “fronton tennis player”--a version of racquetball--and basketball player.

“A lot of women don’t like to hit an overhead, but I do,” she said. “A lot of women don’t like to serve and volley, but I do. I’m a good athlete, and that gets me by. Most of the players like to stay back and play on the baseline and expend less energy. What they don’t realize is it takes more energy to play long baseline points than it does to come to the net and get the point over with.”

How long will Gordon continue to charge the net?

“Until I drop dead, because I love it.”