TEAMTENNIS : When Connors Plays Borg, Who Cares What’s at Stake?

Most of the World TeamTennis drama that unfolded Friday night at the Forum came from a player with a pink racket and a quick sense of humor.

Some guy named Connors.

The rest of the drama came from the supertiebreaker, a method of scoring unique to TeamTennis.

It was Jimmy Connors who joked with the crowd of 3,612, then turned serious as he watched his Phoenix Smash win a seven-point supertiebreaker and thus win the match, 26-25, against the winless Strings.

The loss, the Strings’ fifth of the season, wasn’t without the effort of a player whose shoulder-length hair was tucked behind a terry-cloth headband.

Some guy named Borg.

Connors and Bjorn Borg, two tennis legends in the twilight of brilliant careers, played a memorable set in which Borg twisted his ankle, continued to play, and almost beat Connors.

The set went to a tiebreaker, which Connors won, 6-5 (5-1).

In the Strings’ 27-18 loss at Phoenix last week, Borg, wearing a ponytail, went quietly, 6-1, against Connors.

Connors’ victory cut the Strings’ lead to 21-19, and set up the what seemed like the decisive set in mixed doubles.

Borg and Connors could only sit and watch as Strings player/coach Larry Stefanki and Kimberly Po were defeated by Mary Lou Daniels and Ellis Ferreira, 6-4.

That tied the match at 25, sending it to a supertiebreaker, in which the first team to seven wins.

The Strings won the coin flip, but lost the tiebreaker, 7-6, on a forehand winner by Ferreira.

“It was fun,” Connors said. “To go to the last point like that was great.

“The people really got into it.”

Connors spent a lot of time playing to the crowd. The fans poked fun at his aspirin commercial, his deodorant commercial and his oversized pink racket.

Borg, meanwhile, signed autographs afterward, indicating that his ankle was OK.

The legendary pair had 17 tour meetings, with Borg winning 10. Borg won the last seven, including the 1981 U.S. Open semifinal in straight sets.

“I’ve seen too much of that guy,” Connors said.