McEnroe gets extra match against Vilas

Press, 17 February 1984, Page 30

McEnroe gets extra match against Vilas

PA Auckland The Wimbledon champion, John McEnroe, will play the Argentinian, Guillermo Vilas, at Auckland’s Stanley Street stadium in a second Winfield Tennis Challenge on Monday at 4 p.m. The match has been arranged at the special request of the 25-year-old American left-hander, who on Sunday will play the Czechoslavak, Ivan Lendl, at Stanley Street at 5 p.m.

The McEnroe-Vilas match has resulted directly from moves by the organiser, International Management Group (N.Z.), Ltd, to provide McEnroe with the easiest means of reaching his February 24 Davis Cup tie appointment against Rumania, in Rumania. I.M.G. New Zealand’s general manager, Paul Gleeson, said yesterday: “We advised McEnroe that the quickest way for him to get to his cup tie would be to leave

from Auckland at 8 p.m. on Monday, not directly after the Lendl match on Sunday. “Once he accepted that he simply requested another match and Vilas agreed' to play-”

McEnroe, Lendl, Vilas and the Swede, Mats Wilander, are at present in Sydney competing in a $400,000 Akai Gold Tennis Challenge. On Wednesday night McEnroe beat Vilas, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, while Lendl needed. only 66 minutes to defeat Wilander 6-0, 6-4, 6-2. McEnroe, Lendl and Vilas are scheduled to arrive in Auckland on Sunday at 2.50 p.m. with Lendl leaving for overseas immediately after his match against McEnroe.

Vilas has never been out of the top six in the world, ranking no. 2 in 1975 and 1977, and has won the United States, French, Italian and Australian opens, reached the Wimbledon quarter-finals twice, and won the masters and Grand Prix championships. He also holds an open tennis

record of 50 consecutive wins, set in 1977.

More recently Vilas has gained intemationl sports headlines after a suspension and fine for allegedly accepting $60,000 appearance money to play in the 1983 Rotterdam tournament.

At a special Professional Council hearing ended in December, Vilas had his one-year suspension revoked, but was ordered to pay a $20,000 fine.

Vilas has had several memorable matches against McEnroe, none more than the 1981 Davis Cup tie in Buenos Aires in 1981 when the South American wore his opponent down before winning a vital singles rubber, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 in shr 15min.

Vilas’s appearance will bring to four the number of tennis superstars to go to Auckland in the last 12 weeks. I.M.G.’s first promotion was the December American Express Challenge between Bjorn Borg and Chris Lewis.