Swedish Men’s Doubles Team to Play for Dukes

The Swedish men’s doubles team of Ronnie Bathman and Rikard Bergh will join Katrina Adams and veteran Amy Frazier on the Newport Beach Dukes, the Team Tennis franchise announced Monday.

Bathman, 33, and Berg, 25, are ranked 12th on the IBM/ATP Tour. They have reached the quarterfinals of two tournaments and the third round of the Australian Open this year. Last year, they won the title at Bastad and were in three other finals.

Adams, 23, is ranked 14th in doubles on the Virginia Slims circuit and won the doubles title at the Virginia Slims of Albuquerque in August.

Frazier, 19, returns for a third season with the Dukes. She was Team Tennis female rookie of the year in the Dukes’ inaugural 1990 season and was second to Atlanta’s Martina Navratilova last season in women’s singles winning percentage.

Debbie Graham of Fountain Valley, the 1990 NCAA singles champion, will play for the Sacramento Capitals. Dukes’ General Manager Barbara Kushner said she had talked to Graham about joining the Dukes, but she already had a commitment from Frazier.

Also returning to Team Tennis for 1992 is former UC Irvine standout Trevor Kronemann, who has moved from the defunct Charlotte Heat to the San Antonio Racquets.

The Dukes, 6-8 and tied for third in the West Division in 1991, will open play with an exhibition against the UCI alumni July 7. The Dukes start regular-season play July 9 against San Antonio at the John Wayne Tennis Club.