Tanner, Nastase in Charity Match

Two of the top players of the 1970s, Roscoe Tanner and Ilie Nastase, will play a best-of-three exhibition tennis match Saturday at Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks to benefit Child Help, a national charity to combat child abuse and neglect.

Tanner, club pro at Sherwood, said it has been 10 years since he faced Nastase.

In 1980, Nastase eliminated Tanner in the quarterfinals of Wimbledon, winning the fifth set, 7-5.

Tanner and Nastase reached the Wimbledon singles final three times between them. In the 1979 Wimbledon final, Tanner lost to Bjorn Borg, 6-7, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. Nastase fell in two Wimbledon finals, losing to Borg in 1976 (6-4, 6-2, 9-7) and Stan Smith in 1972 (4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 7-5).

“We’re just about even; we’ve had some real battles on all surfaces,” Tanner said. “You never know what’s going to happen. We’ve had a lot of fun.”

Information: 805-496-3036.

Several Valley area players are among the top-seeded players in the Southern California Senior Sectional tennis championships, which open today at The Racquet Centre of Universal City.

Jack Simpson of Van Nuys and H.M. Womack of Glendale, a doubles team since high school, are seeded second in the men’s 65 doubles draw.

Other top players in their respective age divisions are Gordon Davis of Encino in men’s 55 singles, John Bennett of Sherman Oaks in the men’s 60 singles and Eleanor Harbula of Sylmar in women’s 70 singles.

The number of entries this year exceeds 900, which is the largest turnout in several years, according to Annette Buck, the SCTA director of adult senior tennis. The tournament includes men’s 80 and women’s 75 singles.

The finals are scheduled for April 25.