P243 CEEFAX 243 Tue 19 Jun 21:12/10 1/6 & % Privi w in a mom nt...P243 CJJFAX 243 Tue 19 Jun 21:28/58 2/6 Twelve months ago, Jimmy Connors went to Wimbledon playing "the best tennis of mz career". He had slaughtered John McEnroe at Queen's and looked set to become the first American to retain the Wimbledon crown since Don Budge in 1938. Such are the plans of mice and men... he was blitzed off the court in the fourth round bz big-ser6ing South African Kevin Curren. In 1984 the tables have turned. McEnroe is the reigning Wimbl don champion and hj travels to SW19 with a neat demolition job of Connors at Queen's undjt his belt.P243 CEEFAX 243 Tue 19 Jun 21:05/24 3/6 This year, however, there are several other factors in the equation to work out the men's champion. The most powerful is Ivan Ljndl, who surprised himself probably more than anzonj by beating McEnroe in the final of the French Open for his first grand- slam title. The Czech seemed destined to be one of tennis's most talented losers. He had the ability to pick up minor titles - hj won a staggjting $1,700,000 in 1983 - but not the temperament to win when it really mattered. Paris changed that. McEnroe not Ljndl wilted when the heat was on.P243 CEJFAX 243 Tue 19 Jun 21:22/01 4/6 Having proved hj has the mental toughness, Lendl will almost ce tainly win many more grand-slam titles. But hj will also have to alter his meticulous - some say boring - back court play before hj will lift the gold cup which is awarded to the Wimbledon men's singles champion. Lendl's style is perfectly suited to European clay courts, but is found wanting when faced by a top class sjrvj and volleyjt on the faster grass courts at Wimbledon. Begun Borg showed that a back court playjt can adapt successfully, but few will ever match the brilliant Swede.P243 CJEFAX 243 Tue 19 Jun 21:01/12 5/6 Borg's compatriot, Mats Wilander, could prove a potent challenger to the McEnroe-Connors axis. He also prefers clay courts but is not chained to the baseline as much as Ljndl. He has also proved hj can win on grass, beating Lendl and McEnroe on his way to the Australian Open title last December. But hj, like Frenchman Yannick Noah, has yet to do himself justice at Wimbledon and might prove suspect to big sjtvers like Roscoe Tanner, who beat him in the third round last year.P243 CEJFAX 243 Tue 19 Jun 21:14/30 6/6 So we end where we started with Connors and McEnroe. Connors, at 31, is touted by some as being over the hill but hj has won Wimbledon and the US Open since people last claimed hj had disappeared from the horizon. Even hj would bj second best, however, if hj mit McEnroe at his best. The 25-year-old New Yorkjt has more shots than any player but hj carries a mental scar ovjt his defeat by Ljndl in Paris. How permanent that scar is may well dictate the identity of the champion.