TEAM TENNIS : Bergh Defeats Connors to Spark Dukes

Nobody came to watch Rikard Bergh. They were there to watch Jimmy Connors, who plays to the crowd in World TeamTennis while he plays with a bright pink racket. A joke, a laugh, a gesture--Jimmy knows how to turn on the crowd with his antics.

Bergh, on the other hand, relied on something more basic to turn the crowd on Saturday--shot-making.

The 27-year-old Swede stunned Connors with some sensational shots in the Western Division final of the World TeamTennis Tournament and beat the league’s marquee player, 6-5, to lead the Newport Beach Dukes over Connors and the Phoenix Smash, 29-26.

The Dukes (14-1) will play the Wichita Advantage (9-7) for the TeamTennis title today.

Newport Beach won four sets in the five-set match, which was delayed twice by rain before being moved inside.

Bergh was down, 5-3, with Connors serving for the set, before his passing shots forced a tiebreaker at 5-5. Bergh won the tiebreaker, 5-3, sending organizing officials away muttering because ticket sales for the final went out the door along with Connors and the Smash.

“What can I say, he hit some outstanding shots,” Connors said. “He zoned for one set. I’m not going to go back and give myself a lobotomy. . . . I’ve played finals at Wimbledon where guys did that to me.”

Bergh, who has never been ranked higher than 158th, pushed the Dukes’ lead to 23-21. That left it for the mixed doubles team of Trevor Kronemann and Manon Bollegraf to wrap up the match, which they did with a 6-3 victory over Ellis Ferreira and Mary Lou Daniels.

In the women’s doubles, the Dukes’ Katrina Adams and Bollegraf won 6-5 (5-1) over Carrie Cunningham and Mary Lou Daniels. In the women’s singles, Adams beat Cunningham, 6-5 (5-3). Connors and Ellis Ferreira won the men’s doubles, 6-5 (5-3).