TENNIS / THOMAS BONK : Borg Can’t Get Past Break Point When It Comes to Game of Life

Bjorn Borg, who acknowledged in a Swedish television interview last week that he has used cocaine and is “virtually broke,” said Friday in a telephone interview from Stockholm that his statements were blown out of proportion. Sort of.

“I never used cocaine. . . . I tried it once,” said Borg, who insisted there is a difference. “I never got involved with drugs. I admit that I tried cocaine once, (but) drugs have nothing to do with me.

“In regards to being completely broke, that’s not quite true,” he said. “If I want to live a normal life, I can do that. People say I play tennis because I’m broke. I play tennis because I love to play tennis, (so) that was another mistake (in the Swedish television interview).”

Borg, 36, who agreed to do the TV interview to promote a new book about his life, is playing in the Advanta Tour of Los Angeles, a $100,000 special senior event Dec. 3-6 at the Los Angeles Tennis Club.

Borg won $25,000 in the first Advanta stop in Chicago and said he is not receiving appearance fees, although his management company, IMG, is producing the events.

Borg struggled a bit when asked what else he could do, other than play tennis, to settle his admittedly shaky finances.

“There are a lot of things I can do. . . . I don’t have to sit at home,” he said.

Asked to name one, Borg said: “Many, many things.”

Finally, Borg said he could rebuild his clothing design company if he wanted.

The Bjorn Borg Design Group collapsed in 1989, at which time former partner Lars Skarke sued Borg for $80 million for alleged breach of contract. The lawsuit is pending. Other lawsuits against Borg have been estimated at $8.4-$10 million by Borg’s own lawyer.

Borg, who won five consecutive Wimbledon titles and the French Open title six times, earned an estimated $75 million in tennis before he quit about 10 years ago. He was not nearly so formidable off the court, although he said it wasn’t his fault.

“The business has not been very successful,” Borg admitted. “That was not all my fault. I had people around me that I trusted, and they made very many mistakes.”

Add Borg: He predicted that the United States will win the Davis Cup final over Switzerland, 4-1.

Worst-dressed? Monica Seles wasn’t exactly devastated by her inclusion on “People” magazine’s worst-dressed list.

“The whole thing is . . . you have to have fun about it. There are so many more serious things to worry about,” she said.

Worst loss? Just how bad was second-ranked Steffi Graf’s second-round defeat by Lori McNeil in the Virginia Slims Championships?

--The last time Graf lost before the quarterfinals of any event was October, 1985, when she was only 16 and two years away from winning her first Grand Slam tournament.

--The last time Graf lost to a player ranked lower than the No. 18 McNeil was February, 1985, when she lost to No. 59 Anne Minter.

A new opponent: Martina Navratilova, who lives in Aspen, is lining up with a Colorado group that has filed a lawsuit challenging a new state amendment that repeals some gay rights.

Navratilova became a plaintiff in legal action against the amendment, but only after she cleared up one issue: “I don’t have to pay for the lawyers, so that was my first question.”

Add Martina: Judy Nelson, who lived with Navratilova for eight years until they parted ways in 1991, is writing a book about the relationship. The book’s working title: “Nelson vs. Navratilova . . . A Love Match.”

Forum tennis: USC’s Brian MacPhie will play 16-year-old Floridian Scott Humphries on the undercard of the Andre Agassi exhibition match of the Forum Tennis Challenge on Tuesday. MacPhie, a junior, is an All-American in both singles and doubles. Humphries won the 1992 World Youth Cup and was a quarterfinalist at 16-and-under at the USTA Nationals.

Tennis Notes

Arthur Ashe never seems to run out of causes. Bryan Shelton, Zina Garrison and Lori McNeil will play an exhibition today in Newark, N.J., to benefit Ashe’s Safe Passage Foundation, an inner-city youth development program. Mal Washington recently became the first player on the men’s pro tour to make a donation to the Arthur Ashe Foundation for the Defeat of AIDS, giving $10,000.

A tournament to benefit local teaching pro Bruce Foxworth, who was seriously injured in an automobile accident last month, will be held Dec. 13 at The Tennis Place, 5880 West 3rd St. Details: Larry Barnett, (213) 931-1715. . . . The Rancho Bernardo Inn Senior Grand Prix Masters Dec. 9-13 features the best senior players, based on the year-end Grand Prix point standings. John Bennett of Sherman Oaks, in the men’s 60 age group, set records this year with 2,110 points in 16 tournaments.