June 4, 1999
By J. Fred Sidhu
They can still pack them in.
This last week at the French Open, a doubles match was played before a near capacity crowd on the 4,500 seat Court Number One at Roland Garros and the match didn't involve any of the current stars on the ATP or WTA Tours.
The match was part of the round
robin "Legends" competition doubles tournament, which
featured Bjorn Borg and Andres Gomez versus John McEnroe and Henri
Leconte.
Borg and McEnroe will be in San Diego next week for the $370,000 Quality Challenge as they will be joined by former number one players, Jimmy Connors and Mats Wilander.
The tournament, to be played at the Rancho Bernardo Inn, June 17-20, is part of the Worldwide Senior Tennis Circuit which consists of 22 senior men's tennis events.
How do the players feel about competing on the senior tour?
"I play on the senior tour because I enjoy it," Borg said while speaking from Sweden last Wednesday during a conference call with the media.
"A lot of people get excited to see McEnroe and Connors play. They have fun watching us play good matches. Fans remember way back and see that we are still playing and trying 100 percent,'' Borg added. "I always want to win, but if I lose, it is not the end of the world.
When asked about his favorite Wimbledon memory, the five-time Wimbledon champion remembered, "My favorite memory was when I won Wimbledon for the first time in '76. It is always something special to win for the first time.
It was always a dream of mine to win Wimbledon. Also, my match
with Mc
Enroe in 1980, that tie-breaker
in that long five set match. (Which Borg won, 8-6 in the fifth)
That match had pretty much everything.''
Borg is scheduled to face McEnroe on at 11 a.m. on Saturday,
June 19.
"We've been having some great matches lately," Borg said while thinking about his upcoming match with McEnroe. "I just hope it is another good match. Off the court he is a very good friend of mine and last year he played extremely well (on the senior tour). I'm sure on the hard courts he's gonna be ready to play.''
Reserved seats for individual sessions range from $15 to $35. Box seat packages and series seats are also available. For ticket information, call (619) 485-6282 or visit the senior circuit's website at:
THE QUALITY CHALLENGE
Tickets: (619) 485-6282
Television: Matches will be televised nationally on CBS Sports, KFMB Channel-8 from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, June 19-20.
Tournament Beneficiaries: Youth Tennis San Diego and the EYE.
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