EFFORTS to bring tennis stars Jim Courier and Patrick McEnroe to Bermuda have been thwarted by a schedule clash.

Courier, the former world number one, and McEnroe, a fine player in his own right and also brother of another former world number one John McEnroe, had agreed to fly to the island for a tennis fund-raiser in September.

However, there was also good news in that four-time Grand Slam winner Hana Mandlikova confirmed this week that she had signed up for the Lori McNeil / Elbow Beach Celebrity Classic.

David Lambert, chairman of the Bermuda Tennis Development Foundation which is organising the third Lori McNeil Tennis Celebrity Classic, said both men had been forced to pull out because of an international tennis fixture.

The US Davis men's tennis team must play a Davis Cup tie in the Slovak Republic on September 19-21, the same weekend as the Classic.

"Patrick was looking forward to coming here but as he is the captain of the Davis Cup team, he can't make it," said Mr. Lambert.

"And Jim Courier is the coach of the US team, so he can't come either. We had also hoped that (former Wimbledon finalist and the 1996 Bermuda Open champion) MaliVai Washington could make it, but he's doing a TV commentary on the tie.

"John McEnroe had also said that he was willing to come, but he was offered another event that we could not compete with."

Mandlikova, who won the French Open, the US Open and the Australian Open twice during the 1980s, will be making her second appearance in the event, having been one of the celebrities at the inaugural Classic in 2001.

Also confirmed are former New York Mayor David Dinkins, top female boxer Leila Ali and her husband, the former world cruiserweight champion Johnny McLean.

The celebrities hold clinics and play tennis matches with sponsors and also attend social functions. Funds raised go towards junior tennis development.

Free accommodation is provided for them by the Elbow Beach Hotel, but they are not paid.

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