TENNIS ROUNDUP : Connors Healthy, Gets Wimbledon Wild Card

Jimmy Connors is fit to play Wimbledon.

Connors, the two-time Wimbledon champion, was given a wild-card invitation Thursday to compete in the Grand Slam event that begins June 24.

When the first wild cards were announced Tuesday, Connors was not among them, but Wimbledon officials said the delay “was a matter of whether he was fit or not.” Connors received a doctor’s approval earlier in the week.

Coming off a dramatic loss to Michael Chang in the third round of the French Open, Connors was not ranked high enough to qualify for Wimbledon. The 38-year-old Connors, who retired from his match with Chang in the fifth set because of exhaustion and a sore back, is ranked 218th.

Connors, who won Wimbledon in 1974 and 1982 and was a finalist four other times, originally did not plan to play because of his commitments as a television analyst.

Britons Nick Brown and Chris Wilkinson also received wild cards.

Fourth-seeded Michael Chang beat Guillaume Raoux of France, 7-5, 6-2, and reached the quarterfinals of the Queens Club Tournament at London.

Qualifier Mark Keil, who upset U.S. Open champion Pete Sampras earlier, was ousted by MaliVai Washington, 6-7 (7-3), 6-3, 6-2.

In other matches, Pat Cash of Australia defeated Todd Woodbridge, another Aussie, 6-2, 6-1, top-ranked Stefan Edberg beat Australian Jason Stoltenberg, 6-4, 6-4, and Grant Connell of Canada defeated Shuzo Matsuoka of Japan, 6-4, 7-5.

Top-seeded Martina Navratilova reached the quarterfinals of the Edgbaston grass courts tournament with 6-0, 6-2 victory over Maya Kidowaki of Japan in 58 minutes at Birmingham, England.

Defending champion Zina Garrison struggled past Sara Gomer of Britain, 4-6, 6-2, 6-4.

Lori McNeil downed Ann Henricksson, 6-2, 6-3, and Mariaan de Swardt of South Africa defeated Gretchen Magers, 6-3, 6-4.

Unseeded Diego Nargiso of Monaco upset fifth-seeded Richey Reneberg, 7-6, 7-6, and moved into the quarterfinals of the Continental Trophy grass court tournament at Rosmalen, Netherlands.

Second-seeded Michael Stich of Germany defeated Paul Haarhuis of the Netherlands, 6-3, 6-3, fourth-seed Jakob Hlasek of Switzerland beat Jan Siemerink of the Netherlands, 7-6, 7-5, and Amos Mansdorf of Israel ousted sixth-seeded Alexander Volkov of the Soviet Union, 6-7, 7-6, 6-3.

Andrei Olhovskiy of the Soviet Union also made it to the quarterfinals by defeating Kelly Evernden of New Zealand, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4.

Unseeded Eduardo Masso of Argentina scored his second upset in three days when he beat Javier Sanchez of Spain, 6-3, 7-6 (7-4), and moved into the quarterfinals of a tournament at Florence, Italy.

Defending champion and sixth-seeded Magnus Larsson of Sweden overcame Lars Jonsson, also of Sweden, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-2).