1989 ONE of the greatest entertainers in international sport brought his humour, his athleticism and his panache to the Marlboro Championships tennis tournament at Victoria Park.
The great and gifted Frenchman Yannick Noah, French Open champion in 1983, was making a tentative return to the circuit after injury and had the Centre Court crowd spell-bound with his antics.
Although beaten - by American Dan Goldie - Noah won over a new army of admirers. In between some dazzling strokeplay, Noah joked with the crowd, answered a spectator's mobile phone and scolded the umpire for his lack of a sense of humour.
After losing the first set 7-6 and falling behind 4-1 in the second, Noah produced an amazing comeback . . . by simply switching the names round on the scoreboard.
Even the umpire saw that one.
1990 OF all the Hong Kong Sevens tournaments, surely this year was the best.