PARIS -- A strained back has made fifth-seeded Czechoslovak Ivan Lendl a doubtful starter for the $437,500 French Open tennis championships which get underway Monday on the slow red clay courts of the Roland Garros Stadium.
The 20-year-old Czechoslovak, who is scheduled to meet Australian John Fitzgerald in the opening round, was crippled with pain during Saturday's semifinals of the Italian Open in Rome where he lost to Argentinian Jose Luis Clerc after taking the first set and holding a 3-1 lead in the second.
'I won't know until Sunday night whether I will be able to play in Paris,' said Lendl, whose injury left him almost immobile.
But fortunately for the tournament organizers, Sweden's defending champion Bjorn Borg, top-seeded to win the title for a record sixth time, is confident he has recovered from the nagging shoulder injury which forced him to rest for five weeks.
Looking tan and fit, the Swedish ace is hungry for success again and anxious to get back on the winning trail after his first-round defeat in last month's Monte Carlo tournament.
The 24-year-old Swede, who opens his title defense against Spain's Jose Lopez-Maeso, is drawn in the same quarter as eighth-seeded 1976 runner-up Harold Solomon of the United States, 10th-seeded American Eliot Teltscher and 15th-seeded Hungarian Balazs Taroczy.
Borg sees the French Open as a springboard for the grand slam, with the next step being next month's Wimbledon title defense followed by attempts at the U.S. and Australian Opens.
Borg's chief challenge in Paris will come from Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe, the No. 2 and No. 3 seeded American southpaws. The French Open is the only major title to have eluded Connors and his current form, coupled with Borg's suspect shoulder, has given the 28-year-old reason to believe this year could be his best chance to grab the crown.
Connors, who meets Frenchman Chistophe Roger-Vasselin in the first round, faces some difficult opponents in his quarter of the draw where seventh-seeded Clerc looms dangerously along with Americans Brian Gottfried, the 1977 losing finalist, and baseline specialist Eddie Dibbs.
McEnroe, pressing hard to overhaul Connors in the world rankings and dislodge Borg from his No. 1 spot, faces fellow-American Vince Van Patten in the opening round. The fiesty New Yorker will find his passage eased considerably if Lendl is forced to withdraw, leaving 1980 losing finalist Vitas Gerulaitis of the United States, and improving Australian Peter McNamara as the only seeds in his quarter.
Fourth-seeded American Gene Mayer heads the remaining quarter of the draw where 1977 champion Guillermo Vilas of Argentina, Poland's Wojtek Fibak and Frenchman Yannick Noah are the other seeds.
Four-time winner Chris Evert, champion for the past two years, is seeded to meet U.S.-based Czechoslovak Martina Navratilova in the women's final with the title-holder facing West Germany's Claudia Kohde in thefirst round and Navratilova receiving a bye.
The other leading seeds are American Andrea Jaeger, Czechoslovakia's Hana Mandlikova, 1978 champion Virginia Ruzici of Romania, Sylvia Hanika of West Germany, 1978 winner Mima Jausovec of Yugoslavia and Australian Dianne Fromholtz.
The tournament ends June 7.
