TEAM TENNIS : Bergh Defeats Connors to Spark Dukes

ATLANTA —  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).