In a charity event set up by the Duke of York at Buckingham
Palace
BJORN BORG AND JOHN McENROE
RECREATE THEIR CLASSIC WIMBLEDON
ENCOUNTERS |
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Old adversaries John McEnroe and
Bjorn Borg — who are now close friends —
enjoy the attentions of John’s daughters
Emily and Anna
Lovebirds Claudia Schiffer
and fiancé Tim Jefferies enter
Buckingham Palace grounds in
the complany of a conservatively
dressed Liz Hurley |
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Russian beauty Anna Kournikova,
who was knocked out of
Wimbledon relatively early on,
arrived at the royal grand slam
with her fiancé Russian ice
hockey player Sergei Federov |
A golden era of Wimbledon was recaptured on the Buckingham Palace tennis
court as old rivals John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg recreated their classic finals
encounters, watched by a crowd of more than 600 who included celebrities from
the worlds of sport and showbusiness.
It may have lacked the nail-biting suspense of their 1980 confrontation —
which Borg won to clinch his fifth Wimbledon title — but the players still
kept their audience enthralled. John McEnroe even added a bit of drama by
disputing a line call with his famous “You cannot be serious!” The
game’s most notorious bad boy went on to beat his adversary, who is now a
close friend, 6-3, 7-6, and became the first professional player to win a match
in royal grounds. He was presented with his trophy by Prince Andrew who had
organised the event in aid of the NSPCC.
The afternoon’s tennis also included mixed doubles, in which Henri Leconte
and Anna Kournikova beat Mansour Bahrami and Jana Novotna 6-4, 6-4. Earlier
19-year-old Anna had caused something of a stir with her choice of dress —
a low-cut Dior design — but attention was soon focused elsewhere.. |
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