Wimbledon will miss McEnroe

Press, 23 June 1986, Page 22

Wimbledon will miss McEnroe

By HUGH BARLOW NZPA London The one-hundredth Wimbledon tennis championships which start tomorrow have already been likened to a production of Hamlet without the prince. The absence of John McEnroe, three times a winner in the last five years, has robbed the tournament of one of the central players of recent times. It has also left the men’s competition more open than it has been for a long time. Both the bookmakers and the ranking computer favour Czechoslovakia’s Ivan Lendl to take the trophy and become the first player since Rod Laver in 1969 to score the -‘‘grand slam” of the Australian, French, United States and Wimbledon titles in a season. But there are many obstacles in the way of

Lendl, who has never reached a Wimbledon final since winning the junior title in 1978. Among those expected to make the running are the defending champion, Boris Becker; the Swedes, Mats Wilander, Stefan Edberg and Joakim Nystrom, Frenchman, Henri Leconte; and an old campaigner, Jimmy Connors. Another old campaigner is tipped to figure prominently in the women’s singles. Chris Lloyd, who has played more times at Wimbledon than any other player, is expected to reach her eleventh final — but not to win it. Martina Navratilova is the overwhelming favourite to take the title for a record-equalling fifth successive time. The Czech-born American, always at her best on grass courts, warmed to her task with a three-set win over Helena Sukova, also a Czech, in the final

of the Eastbourne tournament on Saturday, and declared afterwards:“When I play well here I play well at Wimbledon. Eastbourne is my good-luck tournament.” Three of the four New Zealanders competing in the singles will be on court on the opening day. With Russell Simpson due to appear on the second day to play a South African, Barry Moir, New Zealand’s early hopes in the men’s event will rest with Kelly Evernden. But bad luck in the draw means there is little chance that the chirpy Evernden will walk off the court a winner. His opponent is Nystrom, the sixth seed.

Nystrom, part of the Swedish invasion of world tennis spawned by the success of Bjorn Borg, came close to knocking Becker out of the cham-

pionship last year, twice serving for the match when they met in the fourth round.

Later, he beat Becker in the United States Open fourth round, and this year he scored a straightsets win over McEnroe in the W.C.T. Dallas final. McEnroe was still ranked world number one. Evernden, who comes to Wimbledon after first round losses at Queen’s and Bristol in the last fortnight, does not look like a form player about to cause an upset.

Belinda Cordwell and Julie Richardson have less awesome first round opponents, though both will have to play well to stay in the contest. Richardson, one of eight women to qualify for the singles, plays the experienced Ann Henricksson, of the United States. Henricksson has made steady progress up the

rankings since turning professional five years ago, but has achieved most success as a doubles player. Richardson, with three wins in the qualifying tournament, is clearly in form, and playing on her favourite surface, must stand a good chance.

Cordwell faces one of the rising young American players, Melissa Gurney. Gurney, like Henricksson, was an early loser at Eastbourne last week but has an impressive record. She wiped the board as a junior, winning United' States hard court, grass court and national championships, and was named “Tennis Magazine’s” “junior of the year” for 1984. She turns 17 on Tuesday, and Cordwell will need to produce consistently good tennis to stop the American celebrating her birthday with a second-round match.