Tennis: Big Mac hoping to Cash in today

Richard Dunn

NEWPORT BEACH - As if on cue, the master of tennis disaster, Big

Mac himself, picked up his game a notch Saturday and wiped out Mats

Wilander in the second set, 6-4, 6-0.

In the final round-robin singles match of the Success Magazine

Champions Tour at Newport Beach Tennis Club, John McEnroe, wearing a red

bandanna, turned it up like a bandit before an estimated crowd of 1,750.

McEnroe, who won eight straight games to close out Wilander in front

of a rather subdued matinee audience, will face Pat Cash today in the

championship match at 1 p.m., as expected.

Under the lights Thursday and Friday, McEnroe defeated area pro Scott

Davis and an entertaining Yannick Noah. But it was a toned down McEnroe

and a kinder, gentler crowd Saturday.

“I think the more subdued crowd has something to do with how much

alcohol is in their body, which is the way it is at most night-and-day

sporting events,” McEnroe said. “And some of it has to do with how

entertaining the match is ... it was a different match today.

“I think if you throw all that together, it makes a crowd more

subdued. I’m fine with energy (i.e. showmanship and fan interaction). I’d

rather have energy than a subdued crowd. The bottom line is winning, but

I’d prefer energy.”

Following Cash’s 6-1, 6-3 victory over Henry Leconte in Saturday’s

first match, McEnroe quickly disposed of Wilander after it was 4-4 in the

first set.

“It’s hard to beat somebody who’s playing close to perfection,” said

Wilander, a seven-time Grand Slam singles champion. “When (McEnroe) is

playing well, he gets these spurts for about 20 minutes where he just

really turns it on and plays on fire. That’s when he can really play

well.”

McEnroe, who broke Wilander’s last four serves, including three in the

second set, capitalized on every opportunity at the net and even had the

chair umpire in his favor, of all people.

After closing out Wilander with back-to-back aces to go up 2-0 in the

second set, the umpire overruled Wilander’s initial out call on McEnroe’s

serve.

Serving at 0-4, Wilander was broken again by McEnroe as Wilander began

to struggle with his volleys, recording back-to-back hitting errors as

McEnroe took the serve once more at 5-0.

“I was hanging around the first four or five games and had a shot at

winning the match, but when he breaks my serve right away (in the second

set), and when the momentum is in his favor, you can’t do anything about

it,” Wilander said. “He’s just a little too good when he does that.”

Coupled with Friday’s loss in doubles, the tournament for Wilander

came to an end Saturday, and, without hesitation, echoed some of

McEnroe’s thoughts about the more laid-back afternoon audience.

“I think it has something to do with alcohol,” Wilander said. “And, if

it’s a close match, I think the fans get into it. They were supportive in

the first set, and they will keep supporting you if you keep it

interesting and I couldn’t keep it interesting. They got more into the

shots (Saturday) than receiving entertaining value.”

Wilander, however, said he enjoys playing at a real tennis club and

“can really feel the crowd. They’re knowledgeable tennis fans here.”

In the case of McEnroe, he hopes to have saved his best for last in

the tournament today against Cash, who also went 3-0 in round-robin

singles play.

“I’ll have to turn it up one more time, because the toughest is yet to

come,” said McEnroe, 42. “Then again, I expect to play better.”

Cash, a classic serve-and-volleyer like McEnroe, is fast, fit and six

years younger than the former Stanford southpaw.

“And this court is perfect for (Cash),” McEnroe said. “It works right

into his game. It’s his best surface.”

In doubles Saturday, Cash and Davis defeated Noah and John Lloyd, 6-3,

6-4, to advance to today’s championship match, which follows the

McEnroe-Cash singles final. Cash and Davis will play Guillermo Vilas and

Leif Shiras.