Tennis star fined $3350

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33514, 20 April 1974, Page 8

Tennis star fined $3350

f '.V.Z.P,.-1.-lieuler— Copyright) JOHANNESBURG. The Jugoslav tennis star. N. Pilic. is to be fined: SNZ33SO for withdrawing from the World Champion-; ship Tennis (W.C.T.) classic! tournament being played in j Johannesburg, it lias been announced.

I Mr John McDonald, the; ! W.C.T. international director,' [said the tine was the highest' i that could be imposed on a ■ player by his organisation, He said Pilic had specific-] ally asked to be included in I the red group of the W.C.T., | which is competing in Johan-1 nesburg, so that he could partner the Australian. A. Slone, in the doubles. Mr McDonald said the W.C.T. had acceded to his request and Pilic had given his assurance that he would play in Johannesburg. But the Jugoslav then withdrew, saying his Government had refused him permission to play in South Africa. I. Nastase of Rumania withdrew from the contest for the same reason but Mr McDonald said no action would be taken against- him, because the W.C.T. accepted his position. Four other W.C.T. players have withdrawn from the tournament because of injury, the Frenchmen P. Proisy and P. Barthes, T. Okker of Holland and M. Estep of the United States, who had already been eliminated from the singles but had still to play in the doubles. The South African, D. Joubert, scored the first major upset of the championships, beating the eighthseeded H. Pohmann of West Germany 6-4. 6-2, in their first round singles clash. In a second match, the

Heart patient The first woman heart transplant patient, Mrs Dorothy Fisher, aged 42, has lived five years with the new heart. Her surgeon, Processor Christiaan Barnard, I said her healt h was actually .improving. — Cape Town, ; April 19.

: Frenchman, G. Goven. beat lA. Stone of Australia 6-3, 6-2. i The South African Davis Cup player, R. Hewitt, came from behind to beat the ! fourth-seeded M. Riessen of I the United States over three i sets in the first round. I The Australian-born, 33-

year-old Hewitt, who was unseeded. won the singles clash 5- 6-1, 6-1. The fellow Springbok. C. Drysdale, the number two seed, cruised to an easy 6-3, 6- first round win over the Frenchman P. Domenguez.