Connors Finds New Favorite

Happily for Jimmy Connors and those who spend time around him, he has found an outlet to channel his prodigious competitive drive. He also found a way to combine two loves--tennis and winning--into what has become a successful venture, an over-35 professional tennis circuit.

Connors’ salesmanship and tenacious approach to whatever he does has helped mold the 3-year-old tour into a viable, if not yet fully realized, product. The tour has rolled into town in the form of the Coopers & Lybrand Champions event, which has begun at the Riviera Country Club.

The 12-man field includes Connors--who once again led the tour in points and prize money last season--and John McEnroe, Andres Gomez, John Lloyd and Johan Kriek. The final is Sunday at 1:30 p.m.

Connors, always the showman on the court, has evolved into a salesman off it. He cites the fan-friendly players and sponsor schmooze events as selling points for the tour. The level of play, he says, is high and competitive.

“The best thing to do is to come out and see what we have to offer,” Connors said. “I can tell you about it all day long, but until you see it, you won’t know. The players understand the situation. We’re fighting a heavy dollar in this country, there’s a lot of competition for sponsorship money. The players here understand that what they do for the tour off the court is just as important as what they do on the court.”

The tour relies on a loyal core of players who play mostly on clay, which suits both the age and styles of the tour roster. Connors sees clay as providing a better game and longer rallies for the fans. In that way, the over-35 circuit differs from the ATP Tour, which is all about power and short points.

Connors, 43, and his partners have built the tour to 12 events, including tour stops in Japan and Russia. The projection is for 20 events and more stops in Europe.

“I don’t give up easily,” he said. “I’m going to stay in there and try to fight. I love the competition of business. It’s totally different from tennis. You deal with people differently. It’s been a learning process.”

Tennis Notes

Playing before a hometown crowd, John Lloyd of Pacific Palisades beat Guillermo Vilas, 6-1, 6-4, to advance to a quarterfinal match against fourth-seeded John McEnroe. . . . Matches tonight include top-seeded Jimmy Connors against Peter Fleming and second-seeded Andres Gomez against the winner of Wednesday’s late match between Mansour Bahrami and Tim Wilkison.