Tennis Roundup : Connors Starts Fast, but Is Finished Off

In the end, Jimmy Connors acted his age.

Teen-ager Jim Courier defeated Connors, a last-minute replacement for ailing Stefan Edberg of Sweden, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, Thursday in the first round of the $154,000 Hamlet Challenge Cup at Jericho, N.Y.

For Connors, whose record 107 victories include five U.S. Opens, it was his first match since Wimbledon.

“I felt I hit the ball pretty well considering I haven’t played in a while,” he said. “I’m in pretty good physical shape and I just want three or four more days of practice before the Open next week and I’ll be ready.”

Connors, No. 15 in world rankings, replaced Edberg, ranked third, when Edberg withdrew because of hives.

The 19-year-old Courier wasn’t born when Connors, who turns 37 next week, played in his first U.S. Open.

“He was the greatest player in the game when I started getting interested in tennis,” Courier said. “I try to emulate his ‘never-say-die’ attitude in a match.”

Courier won the first four games of the second set to get back into the match, then won the last four games of the final set as Connors ran out of gas.

In other matches, unseeded Jonas Svensson of Sweden upset eighth-seeded Yannick Noah of France, 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (8-6); Robert Seguso needed just 56 minutes to defeat Carl Uwe-Steeb of West Germany, 6-2, 6-4, and sixth-seeded Andrei Chesnokov of the Soviet Union beat Jimmy Arias, 7-5, 6-4.

Top-seeded Martina Navratilova beat No. 9 Helen Kelesi, 6-3, 6-3, and second-seeded Gabriela Sabatini of Argentina beat Barbara Paulus, 7-5, 6-0, and advanced to the quarterfinals of the Canadian Women’s Open at Toronto.

In other matches, Nana Miyagi of Japan upset No. 12 Radka Zrubatova of Czechoslovakia, 3-6, 7-5, 7-5; fifth-seeded Jana Novotna of Czechoslovakia routed Donna Faber, 6-0, 6-0; No. 15 Sylvia Hanika of West Germany defeated Jana Pospisilova of Czechoslovakia, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (7-5); Anne Minter of Australia beat Catherine Suire of France, 6-2, 6-2; No. 10 Nathalie Tauziat of France beat Ann Grossman, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2, and fourth-seeded Arantxa Sanchez of Spain eliminated Louise Field of Australia, 6-1, 6-2.