Tennis: Connors accused

BRYAN SHELTON, of the United States, accused his compatriot Jimmy Connors of making a mockery of the sport after being beaten 6-4, 6-7, 6-4 in the second round of the Volvo men's tournament in San Francisco yesterday.

Connors advances to the quarter-finals but Shelton accused him of breaking his concentration by stalling, shouting obscenities and playing to the crowd.

'I thought he was making a mockery of the game,' Shelton, ranked 122 in the world, said. 'When I heard the obscenities he was shouting at the umpire, I was thinking of all the kids and ballboys who were watching.

Shelton, who admitted that Connors outplayed him, said that if he had to put up with Connors' behaviour regularly, he would 'be out of tennis'.

Connors, who was warned twice, once for delaying the game and once for a visible obscenity - a racket gesture - said: 'Maybe he should play a little better. I'd be upset if I lost to a 40-year-old guy, too.'