Senior Tennis Ace Pulls Top Rank

Jack Simpson of Van Nuys enjoyed Jimmy Connors’ comeback victory over Mikael Pernfors on Tuesday a little more than the average Wimbledon viewer.

“He’s my favorite star,” said Simpson, 62. “I love to watch him play. He’s just a gutsy player.”

Like Connors, Simpson is no stranger to winning. He was the No. 1-ranked men’s singles player in the 60-65 age division in Southern California last year.

Simpson, a semi-retired engineer, spends almost every evening on the Valley College tennis courts.

And he doesn’t have to look far to find his toughest opponent. His son Keith, 33, is a four-time doubles and a two-time mixed doubles national public parks champion.

But in other cases, Simpson feels that the best way to handle younger opponents is to avoid them.

“I try not to play younger players--I’m no dummy,” he said. “But when I do, about the only thing I have going for me is my smarts. You do learn something over the years but it’s awful hard to use against these kids because they’re so good.”

Simpson, however, is at home with other players his age.

“Jack is a great player, and an extremely nice person,” said Bill Rombeau, director of the Universal City Racquet Center. “He is the perfect example of the reason people enjoy senior tennis--to interact with people of his character.”

No one has had more on court interaction with Simpson than H.M. Wammack. Simpson and Wammack, who were high school friends in Glendale, have played every Saturday for the last 46 years.

“H.M. is very nimble,” Simpson said. “He is the quickest man for his age that you will ever see.”

Simpson is no slowpoke either. Still, he said it’s necessary sometimes to call upon more than his own mortal abilities to ace his challengers.

“Sometimes, I’ll wear a certain pair of shorts,” he said. “If I win with them at a match I say, ‘By God I’d better not wear anything else.’ So I look a little ridiculous and people think, ‘Doesn’t he ever wash those things?’ ”