Connors Writes Himself Another Check

Jimmy Connors--tennis player and businessman--won the Coopers & Lybrand Champions over-35 tournament at the Riviera Country Club on Monday night, using the same canny survivalist tactics that served him so well on the men’s tour.

Only now his game is equally dependent on running chatter with fans and Vegas-style showmanship that fans of the Nuveen Tour have paid handsomely to watch.

Connors rarely disappoints. He defeated Johan Kriek, 7-5, 6-2, in a match that challenged him to play the best tennis he has displayed in some time. Connors, who has a financial interest in the tour, has now won the first two events this season and was again in the position of writing himself a $40,000 check for the victory.

Kriek had hoped to forestall that. He said he had planned to attack Connors, but was thwarted in that effort early on.

“It’s hard to stick to your game plan, if he hits so many deep balls” Kriek said. “You can’t really attack--you look like an idiot getting passed all the time. But that’s Jimmy.”

Connors set the tone by breaking Kriek in the first game. He held his serve in the next game but squandered three break points in the third game to let Kriek off the hook.

“It was a big game to start off, but then I made a big mistake,” Connors said. “I had a big letdown. I was up, 2-0, had a chance to break him and hold and go up, 4-0. Suddenly, I’m in a dogfight.”

Kriek’s serve--which had been successful for him Sunday night against Andres Gomez, was something much less against Connors. His first serve was weak, especially deadly against a returner of Connors’ caliber.

It was Connors who served well when needed. He fired three aces in the final game of the match past an obliging and properly respectful Kriek.