TENNIS / THOMAS BONK : The Power Game Is Dulling Interest, Connors Warns

You could call Jimmy Connors rude, crude, loud, obsessive, upsetting, explosive, tenacious, pugnacious. But you never could call him boring. That is why Connors listened so intently last week at Sherwood Country Club, where he was playing in the Infiniti Champions Tour senior event, and heard more than one person claim men’s tennis is becoming, well, the B-word.

“You know, I didn’t see much of the (U.S.) Open, but I must have had 20 people say they were there and left on the weekend, when the semifinals and finals were played,” Connors said. “Empty seats. They just didn’t care.

“I don’t know the best thing to say. You know, I don’t have any sour grapes. I played then and I play now--but, truthfully, if you asked me which one I enjoyed more I would say when I played then.”

Connors said it is clear to him that the men’s game has been short-changed recently in the personality department. Indeed, while Pete Sampras, Jim Courier, Stefan Edberg and Sergi Bruguera--to name four of the top five players--are undeniably great talents, they can’t compare to such audacious predecessors as Connors and John McEnroe.

Connors said it’s also a matter of playing style.

“Now, everybody plays the same, one way, hard-hitting, boom-boom kind of style. I don’t know if people like that.”

At 41, Connors is planning to play an abbreviated IBM/ATP schedule next year, when he expects to devote more of his time to the fledgling champions tour. Next year, the number of over-35 events could increase from three to eight or 10, said Connors, pointing out that this is his tour now.

The regular circuit is merely the “other” tour, but he’s not through with it yet, he said.

“Basically, I’ve got a little bit of desire back,” Connors said.

Meanwhile, the business of tennis moves on. Connors, who has been playing for money since 1972, hopes for the best, but remains sort of skeptical.

“If the sponsors lose interest, the fans lose interest, what happens next? The players lose interest? . . . If they haven’t already.”

Fashion update: Remember when Anne White shocked Wimbledon in 1985 by showing up for her match wearing a skin-tight, white bodysuit? They probably are still reviving some of the club members after that one.

White quit playing tennis a few years ago, but she has a new job, one that must have been in the back of her mind since that day at Wimbledon. She is working for designer Ralph Lauren in New York City.

Davis Cup update: Now that Tom Gorman’s eight-year reign as U.S. Davis Cup captain is over, we’re only weeks away from the selection of his replacement. What’s the rush? Why doesn’t the USTA simply wait until the players step on the court for the first match next year?

This decision should have been made when Gorman announced his intention to resign last month. As usual, the USTA is having trouble making the right decision.

Of course, the best move would be to choose John McEnroe, which would ensure no more embarrassing moments such as Gorman experienced when none of the top players would commit to play the first-round match at Australia, thus guaranteeing a loss. Make no mistake about it, the top U.S. players would always show up and play if McEnroe asked them.

And for anyone worried that McEnroe might cause an international incident in a match because of his behavior, it should be apparent by now that McEnroe is in the midst of a shift. He has gone out of his way to make himself more at home in the tennis Establishment.

In any event, McEnroe probably is a longshot to become captain. Usually mentioned are Stan Smith, Marty Riessen, Tom Gullikson and Brad Gilbert.

It could be that the USTA has forgiven McEnroe for the rollicking rip job he did on Gorman, Smith, the USTA and about anyone or anything else connected with Davis Cup last spring.

Said USTA President J. Howard (Bumpy) Frazer: “I would always rather have people tell me what they really think than just what I’d like to hear. So it is not a downside that one of our possible coaches, or one of our players, or anybody else, tells me what they believe.”

Tennis Notes

The latest IBM/ATP computer rankings show Ivan Lendl at No. 15 and Andre Agassi at No. 21. . . . Pancho Segura was made an honorary member of the U.S. Professional Tennis Assn. Segura, the resident teaching pro at La Costa, once coached Jimmy Connors and has worked recently with Agassi. The 10,000-member USPTA is made up of teaching professionals worldwide.