They’re Not Just Serving Nostalgia

If Fleetwood Mac can stage a reunion tour, the Volkswagen Beetle can make a comeback and Jack Nicklaus can make a run at the Masters, then surely four of the greatest tennis players of all time can get together in Newport Beach and remind fans why they fell in love with the game in the first place.

Jimmy Connors, Bjorn Borg, John McEnroe and Yannick Noah, with 27 Grand Slam titles among them, will compete this weekend at the Palisades Tennis Club in the Challenge, the biggest event in the burgeoning senior tennis tour. First prize is $150,000. Total prize money for singles and doubles is $325,000.

Friday’s semifinal will match McEnroe against Noah. Saturday’s semifinal has Connors facing Borg. The winners will meet at 11 a.m. Sunday in the final.

The tennis on the senior tour might not match the quality of the ATP Tour, but the points might be more exciting, the matchups more compelling, the personalities more interesting and the champion more famous.

Can you name this year’s French Open champion?

Those who answered Carlos Moya are bigger tennis fans than most.

“I think people realize, and I’ve realized myself, that [tennis] is not like it was when I came in the late ‘70s, early ‘80s,” McEnroe said. “When I came in, it seemed like it was really exciting and really fun to be a part of.”

The tennis fans’ desire for a taste of yesteryear has helped the senior tour grow. Connors started the tour in 1993 with three events in the United States. This year there are 21 events worldwide, 10 on the U.S Nuveen Tour.

“Generally, people like to be a little nostalgic and I think that the personalities were there when I played,” McEnroe said. “It’s similar to [Jack] Nicklaus and [Arnold] Palmer, the way people remember them. That virtually started off their whole senior tour.

“The people can feel they were growing up with us, possibly and they can relate to us more. I don’t think people really feel they know the players now and there doesn’t seem to be a whole lot to know at this point. It’s a lot more businesslike now.”

The senior tennis tour doesn’t have the television ratings or the prize money of the senior golf tour, but it has already surpassed McEnroe’s expectations. Saturday and Sunday’s matches will be televised on tape delay by CBS. The other nine Nuveen events are being broadcast on Fox Sports Net. The seven European tournaments are on Euro Sports.

“I’m surprised it’s done as well as it has,” said McEnroe, who also has a broadcast career. “I think Jimmy is certainly the guy who started this whole thing off and now it’s spread. It’s starting to feel like the other tour. The danger for me is to enjoy it when I do it and try not to do too much.”

Dunham Stewart, tournament manager for the Nuveen Tour, said McEnroe doesn’t have to worry about the senior tour ever growing out of control.

“We’ll never get to 42 events like the senior golf tour,” said Stewart, who has been with the Nuveen Tour since its inception. “The nature of the sport wouldn’t allow it.”

What the senior tennis tour needs is a little more respect. Last year’s Challenge in Colorado Springs drew more than 16,000 over four days. This year’s tournament in Newport Beach could come close to that in attendance.

But how many people know that Connors beat McEnroe in last year’s Challenge?

“The fans have accepted us,” said Scott Matulis, publicist for the Nuveen Tour. “When the media and sporting world accept us, that’s when we’ll have arrived. We have to let people know this is not an exhibition. It’s not hit-and-giggle tennis. It’s serious, high quality tennis. Our guys are in shape. Yeah, we’re fan friendly, but if the competition isn’t good, we won’t succeed.”

Borg said players from his era are too competitive to let the level of play drop too much.

“We have a great time playing this tour, but we all love winning,” he said. “We don’t like to lose.”

Especially, Connors, who at 46 is the tour’s all-time leading money winner and a two-time winner of the Challenge. Last week in Raleigh, N.C., he won his 30th senior tournament.

“It seems like he has that same feeling, that same emotion he had 20 years ago,” Borg said. “We all stepped away from the game for a while, but Jimmy never did. He retired and then went right on the senior tour. That’s his advantage right now.”

But McEnroe said other players are starting to catch up to Connors.

“There’s a lot more people eager to play so the players that are playing are concerned that they’ll be pushed aside for possibly younger players and better ones,” he said. “The players are taking it more seriously.”

What will happen to the senior tour when Connors and McEnroe stop playing?

“It’s hard to say where it’s going to go,” McEnroe said.

It will likely go to the next wave of retired superstars--Mats Wilander, Stefan Edberg, Boris Becker and Michael Stich.

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Tennis Tournament

* What: The Challenge, a special event on the ATP Tour-sanctioned worldwide senior tennis tour.

* When: Today-Sunday

* Where: Palisades Tennis Club, 1171 Jamboree Rd., Newport Beach

* Tournament format: Singles--four-man draw, single elimination; doubles--four-team draw, single elimination; all best-of-three-set matches.

* Today’s schedule: 2 p.m.--semifinal doubles matches: Tim Wilkison/Bob Lutz vs. Gene Mayer/Brian Gottfried; Scott Davis/Eddie Dibbs vs. Hank Pfister/Mel Purcell

* Friday’s schedule: 2--consolation doubles match, followed by John McEnroe vs. Yannick Noah

* Saturday’s schedule: 11 a.m.--Jimmy Connors vs. Bjorn Borg, followed by championship doubles match

* Sunday’s schedule: 11--singles final, followed by consolation singles match

* Last year’s results: At the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Connors defeated Noah in the first round, then McEnroe, 7-6 (7-3), 6-0, in the final.

* TV: CBS will broadcast the Connors-Borg match Saturday on tape delay 1-3 p.m., and singles final Sunday on tape delay 1-3 p.m.

* Tickets: Reserved seats $20-$50 today; $35-$65 Friday and Saturday; $40-$70 Sunday. Limited seats available for weekend matches. Palisades Tennis Club capacity is 4,500.

* Benefits: The Arthritis Foundation, Orange County/Long Beach branch

* Information: (714) 640-6265