NEW YORK -- Elaine Mason straightened her partner's collar, making sure 89-year-old Gardnar Mulloy looked just right for his brief moment of glory on center court at the U.S. Open.
The tandem was dressed well, but still lost.
Four of the country's top old timers took the court in a "Battle of the Ages" exhibition presented by the U.S. Tennis Association between the first and second morning matches Saturday in Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Mulloy tried some trickery against 86-year-old Dodo Cheney, who can't quite be considered a chip-and-charger at her age, though she's close.
When Mulloy dropped in an underhanded first serve, Cheney hit a perfect drop shot back -- and Mulloy had no chance to chase it down. Cheney, dressed in a pleated white skirt and a white blouse with see-through long sleeves, would be punished for it.
"Later, when I served to him, I gave him an underhanded flip-flop," she said. "He got it back and passed it right down between us. Right, Gardnar?"
"Why are we talking about one silly shot?" Mulloy said.
Mason, 77, from Fresno, Calif., is the top-ranked player in women's 75 singles in the United States and the world. Mulloy, of Miami, played on seven Davis Cup teams, has seven 45-and-over national championships and three world senior singles titles. He's made an impression on tennis fans everywhere for his flair and longevity.
The tandem leaned against the net to stretch their legs, then took to the court for an abbreviated warmup. They eventually went down in the best-of-nine-point tiebreaker to Cheney and 89-year-old Dave Carey.
Cheney, who lives in La Jolla, Calif., first played Wimbledon in 1936. She has dominated women's senior tennis, winning more than 300 national titles. Her mother, May Sutton Bundy, was the first American woman to win the Wimbledon singles title in 1905. She won again in 1907.
Cheney can't recall the last time she played at the U.S. Open.
"Oh, come on, ask me something easy," she said, laughing. "I can't remember."
Carey, of Asheville, N.C., has won five USTA national singles titles and six in doubles.
"The thing that I'm thinking about today, 30 years ago, if you had a hip replacement or if you had a bypass surgery, you were an invalid for life," Carey said. "Today, with modern medicine, we're all playing with all these different things. I've had two hips put in. I couldn't play if I hadn't had these hips put in."
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