BJORN AGAIN

BORG AND MCENROE WILL RE-ENACT EPIC WIMBLEDON FINAL -- BUT YOU CAN'T SEE IT

Bjorn Borg and john McEnroe are to reenact their classic 1980 final at Wimbledon -- but the public will not be invited to see it.

Instead, the exhibition match is being paid for by Wimbledon's increasingly influential corporate partners HSBC, who will select what will be a relatively small audience.

The event is expected to take place in the fortnight's gap between the French open and Wimbledon in early to mid june, at a time when McEnroe is in Europe for his commentating duties in Paris and London.

It is believed the match would be staged on an outside court and not the Centre with licensing difficulties, plus the preparation of the site for the main Championships, making it difficult to stage the event more publicly. There is also the reality that the disparity in playing standards between Borg, who rarely practises these days, and McEnroe, who still trains regularly at 51, will mean that it could not be a seriously competitive match.

The two men enjoy iconic status and until the amazing 2008 final between roger Federer and rafael nadal, their encounter 30 years ago was considered by many to be the greatest final ever staged at Wimbledon.

It ended with Borg outlasting the American 8-6 in a gripping fifth set, but is best remembered for the remarkable fourth-set tiebreak, which McEnroe ended up taking 18-16 after being match point down five times.

HSBC already have a close tie-up with Borg, 53, as he is employed by them as a tennis ambassador, while McEnroe is still an active exhibition player and is due to make an appearance in Liverpool in the week prior to this year's main Championships.

According to one All England Club member, there are concerns that the project, which is being organised by management company IMG, might be seen as a Pr own goal. In the current climate and when British tennis is under fire following the recent Davis Cup defeat, does it look good that Wimbledon is organising a huge corporate event for the banking industry?

When a slightly comparable event was staged last year and opened to the public -- the first match played under the new roof and featuring Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf -- tickets sold out online within minutes.

A corporate event on the scale of Borg-McEnroe would be unprecedented at Wimbledon but the growing prominence there of HSBC is intriguing experts in the sports marketing industry.

The All England Club is insistent on maintaining traditions and has been true to that, but i ts commercial hor izons continue to expand.

The backdrop to this is the growing anxiety at Wimbledon about the effects on revenues that might be caused by the potential delisting of the early rounds of the tournament by the government commission into TV sports coverage chaired by David Davies. At the moment only the semi-finals and finals must be on free-to-air TV.

m.dickson@dailymail.co.uk

LLOYD NETS ?100K EXIT

John LLoyd last night paid the price for Britain's Davis Cup slump when it was announced he was stepping down as captain, with team coach Paul Annacone also relieved of his duties.

Lloyd was said to have resigned, although it has been well known for a week that he was on his way as a result of the defeat against Lithuania and the review that was launched into the result. While Annacone will retain his wider coaching role with the Lawn Tennis Association, Lloyd's payoff is likely to be well over ?100,000.

Former player Greg Rusedski is eager for the job, although there is a growing opinion that Lloyd's successor should be low profile.