SENIOR TENNIS : Connors Defeats Kriek, Advances to Final

Each player battled himself as much as his opponent in the semifinals of the Digital PC Champions tournament Saturday night, with Jimmy Connors beating Johan Kriek, 7-6 (7-4), 7-5, before a sellout crowd of 2,600 at the Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks.

Kriek struggled early, then regained control of his serve and forehand as the match wore on. However, he could not stop Connors from advancing to today’s 1 p.m. final against Jose-Luis Clerc, a rematch of last week’s final at the Coral Champions tournament in Hilton Head, S.C.

“Johan can be off and then switch it right around,” Connors said. “In the beginning he was missing shots he had no business missing, and later on he was making shots he had no business making.”

Said Kriek: “The first four games I was in la-la land. But Jimmy has the best energy of any player even if he’s not playing well. He’s no different than 20 years ago.”

Connors advances to face Clerc, who upset second-seeded Bjorn Borg, 7-6 (9-7), 7-5, in the day’s first match. Clerc and Peter Fleming beat Borg and Mel Purcell, 6-2, 6-3, immediately thereafter, and will face Mansour Bahrami and Larry Stefanki in today’s doubles final. Bahrami ad Stefanki beat Tim and Tom Gullikson, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.

Clerc beat Borg by frequently pinning him to the baseline with booming serves and textbook groundstrokes, while the five-time Wimbledon champion looked tired and earned most of his points at the net.