Borg, Connors through

Press, 3 September 1977, Page 6

Borg, Connors through

NZPA-Reuter New York) Bjorn Borg and Jimmy Connora face a further test of their fit-) ness today in the United Stares j ..pen tennis championships at. Forest Hills after surviving the first round with varying degrees of satisfaction. Borg, the 21-year-old top seed from Sweden, goes against the young Australian John James, while Connors, the defending champion and second seed, is pitted against the experienced American. Bob Lutz. . Borg pulled a muscle in his) right chest near his shoulder in; practice on Tuesday. He has been; seen undergoing heat treatment, but came through the first round 1 yesterday against the American Trey Waltke, 6-2, 6-1. Connors, the brash American who celebrates his twenty-fifth, birthdav today, was more confident about the back trouble he aggravated last week. After trouncing Jasjit Singh, of India,

6-2, 6-0, he said: “It feels pretty sure, but it'll be all right.*’ While Connors and Borg were causing a crush of immense proportions in their matches on outside courts, the Wimbledon womens champion, Virginia Wade was disposing of the trans sexual Renee Richards, 6-1, 6-4 on the stadium centre court. Although she expressed disappointment at her defeat, Dr Richards nevertheless scored a personal victory by merely ap-i pearing in the tournament,! courtesy of a court order pre-1 venting the United States Tennis Association from keeping her out. The 43-year-old former Richard Rasskind had previously been barred from Wimbledon and the' French and Italian championships. The fourth-seeded Sue Barker, of Britain, recovered from a scruffy start to eliminate the West German Katja Ebbinghaus, 6-4, 5-7, 6-3, and all the other

women’s seeds in action also advanced with the exception of eleventh-ranked Kristen Shaw who tell victim to the Rumanian, Florenta Mihai, 6-3. 6-2 The men’s seeds were al! victonous. Third-ranked Brian Gottfried, of the United Slates — also playing on an outside court 17 dhi* young compat 6-3. 6-3. and the fifth seed. Manuel Orantea. of Spbarely broke sweat in hu |M, 6-0 dnibbing of the young | American BiU Maze. Un'itTj? n J mith •’«' - «ll nf the United States — and Poland s rJvm ek . F - b ? k " 5 ‘ 111 benefited from straight-sett victories. Fourteen-year-old Tracy Auatin. 1° b * ,b * youngest pla cL.L® P >rt m the United dt ® 9o Pen.deiighted a crowd reaching the second round at S' We *' r ’*i-n>*nv < Heidi Eisterlehner.