FOUR-time Grand Slam winner Hana Mandlikova has confirmed that she has signed up for this year's Lori McNeil / Elbow Beach Tennis Classic.

It is a great coup for organisers the Bermuda Tennis Development Foundation (BTDF) to add the Czech-born great to their galaxy of stars who will take to the court in September to raise funds to aid the progress of the island's junior players.

Mandlikova, now 41, reached her zenith in the 1980s when we won two Australian Opens, one French Open and a US Open title.

In addition, she was a runner-up twice at Wimbledon and twice at the US Open.

This week, she spoke from her home in Boca Raton, Florida, to The Mid-Ocean News about how she was looking forward to returning to the island, the strengths and weaknesses of the women's game today and the amazing return to the Tour of her old rival Martina Navratilova.

Mandlikova, who was one of the celebrities at the inaugaral Classic in October, 2000, said: "David Lambert wanted me to come last year but my twins (a boy and a girl) were very young and I didn't want to leave them.

"Bermuda is a nice place to go and it's a pleasure to be able to do something for the community."

She no longer plays on the WTA Tour, but Mandlikova still appears at the Grand Slams as a competitor in the over-35s competitions - last year she made the semi-finals at Wimbledon - and she said she also played in some exhibitions.

But she said she had no wish to emulate 46-year-old Navratilova's comeback.

"I think it's great for tennis and great for Martina that she can prove that she can play competitive doubles at that age," said Mandlikova.

"But she's a completely different person to me and I would not be able to do that. I'm really happy with my life now.

"I was a ballgirl for Martina when I was 12 and she was a good motivation for me. We played the same way and I wanted to be good enough to beat her some day."

Mandlikova enjoyed a long-standing rivalry with Navratilova, a player who also emanated from the Czech Republic. Although she beat the legendary nine-time Wimbledon champion just seven times in 37 meetings, four of those victories came in their 14 clashes in the majors.

Perhaps the most famous of those victories came when Mandlikova won the US Open final of 1985, defeating Navratilova 7-6 (3), 1-6, 7-6 (2) in a feast of attacking tennis at Flushing Meadows.

Navratilova got her own back by defeating Mandlikova in the Wimbledon final the following year, but in 1987 Mandlikova claimed her second Australian Open with a straight-sets victory over her old rival in the final.

In 1989, the pair teamed up to win the US Open women's doubles title.

Asked if she missed the globe-trotting lifestyle of the WTA Tour which she graced for so long, and later as the coach of Jana Novotna, whom she helped to become Wimbledon champion, Mandlikova replied emphatically.

"No, not at all, absolutely not," she said. "I don't particularly like travelling now. It's a tough life on the Tour.

"I like to stay at home and do normal things - and finally I'm actually doing that after 25 years!"

As for the women's tennis scene these days, Mandlikova felt it lacked some of the finesse it had enjoyed in previous years.

"Venus and Serena (Williams) are really dominating, especially Serena now," said Mandlikova. "They're both very strong and tall and that's what you have to be to succeed these days.

"It's more about power now, not so much about touch as it was when I was playing. It's the same on the men's tour. I think that's a shame."

At the Classic, Mandliokova will be holding clinics with sponsors and juniors and will also be involved in an exhibition match.

BTDF chairman David Lambert was delighted to have secured the signature of Mandlikova.

"We are very fortunate to have a big name like Hana Mandlikova, who has agreed to give up her time to come to Bermuda and help us raise money for our juniors," said Lambert.

"The plans for our third Classic are going well. Hana has confirmed and we also have (former New York Mayor) David Dinkins, (top woman boxer) Laila Ali and her husband (fromer world crusierweight champion and now boxing promoter) Johnny McLean."

Whether McNeil herself will be able to attend is in doubt because of her busy schedule, added Lambert.

Lambert added that only the substantial support of the Elbow Beach Hotel, which, as with the previous two Classics, will be providing accommodation for the visiting celebrities, made the event possible.