Word: backhanders
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...tennis fans are used to such antics. Ever since the young man with the impish grin, two-fisted backhand and high-octane temper burst into pro tennis three years ago, the keepers of decorum have been alternating between disgust at his behavior and admiration for his play. Rumania's Ilie ("Nasty") Nastase, of course, has for years been notorious for his displays of anger and unsportsmanlike conduct, but James Connors has taken the art of on-court temperament to new heights ? or depths. Given an audience, Connors can seldom resist the temptation to ham. Occasionally he loses control...
...like the ball," he says. "I don't like that little thing coming back over the net." To keep it away, Connors hits every shot, especially his two-fisted backhand, with jackhammer force, pounding down an opponent with his nonstop attack. Small-bodied, he gets his power from outsize muscular shoulders and a swing calibrated to bang the ball on the rise, a technique first taught him by his mother, Gloria, and later stressed by Pancho Segura, the wily pro who has been Connors' instructor for the past six years. "Never let a ball come to you" is Segura...
...like it's 40-love. You just try to get the first serve in." On taking advantage of angles, Connors says, "You've got to use the open court. If my opponent and I are both at the base line, I'm going to hit cross court to his backhand, and if he hits back to my forehand, I'll go down the line. If he returns that, my next shot might be a short, top-spin drive back across court. That way I've always got him running...
...have already begun. Piqued by hecklers at an earlier tournament, Connors at first offered to buy 536 courtside box seats for his confrontation with Newcombe at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas. No, thanks, said hotel officials. Then last week Connors' manager Bill Riordan gave a quick backhand to Golfer Jack Nicklaus, who, Riordan claimed, had labeled such big-money, head-to-head sports contests as "ripoffs of the public." Huffed Riordan: "Nicklaus wouldn't be making the big money he does if it weren't for Arnold Palmer, who turned the public on to golf...
...over Dianne Fromholtz in the opening round last Tuesday, she indulged the news media in the usual post-match press conference attended mostly by tennis writers from magazines and newspapers (no, it doesn't bother me to play a lefthander like Diane. Yes, my backhand was working well today. The last time I played Diane? Last month in Chicago. The score? 6-3, 6-1.) Evert had heard all the questions before and had a handy set response to each...