Tennis: The end of the line judge

IVAN LENDL and other leading players will be part of a futuristic tennis experiment when they represent their countries in the Hopman Cup team tournament starting in Perth today.

For the first time at a major event, line judges will be made redundant by an electronic system which its inventors believe will revolutionise the sport. The system, known as TEL (Tennis Electronic Lines), developed embarrassing faults when tested at previous tournaments, including this year's United States and Australian Opens.

However, the Hopman Cup director, Paul McNamee, said the problems had been overcome. 'The whole tennis world has been waiting for the system to be used in a major tournament,' he said yesterday.

John McEnroe had agreed to give the new system its ultimate test, but he was forced to withdraw with a pulled muscle above his knee. He subsequently helped recruit Lendl to join Mary Joe Fernandez in the US team.

HOPMAN CUP First round draw: Ukraine v Austria (winners play Spain); Australia v Sweden (winners play France); South Africa v Germany (winners play United States); Netherlands v Switzerland (winners play Czech Republic).