Little Mac Emerges From John's Shadow

MELBOURNE, Australia -- Boris Becker fell victim once more to the McEnroe conspiracy at the Australian Open.


This time it was Patrick McEnroe who knocked out the third-seeded Becker in the first round Tuesday night, cutting the German up 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) for his biggest win over a seeded player in a Grand Slam event.


Three years ago, John McEnroe did the job, beating Becker in the third round here, also in straight sets. The year before that, Patrick gave Becker fits, taking the first set and leading in the second before losing in four sets in the semifinals.


The McEnroe brothers spoke last week after Patrick won the first singles title of his career in Sydney. Asked what advice he got from his big brother, Patrick, 28, joked, "He said, 'Serve wide, come in, hit a drop-volley winner.'"


Actually, that would have been John's style. Patrick's way of playing is to stay back, curl backhands at impossible angles, keep the ball alive and let his opponent make mistakes, which is what happened, with Becker spraying 57 unforced errors to Patrick's 28.


"If he played as well as he could, obviously he was going to beat me," said Patrick, who is ranked No. 65. "But I knew if he was a little bit off, the way I've been playing I had a chance."


Becker hardly knew what was happening to him, and he was more than a little bit off all night. He was sometimes 3 meters off the court, trying to blast shots from the baseline instead of taking charge at the net.


"I seemed to have no timing, no rhythm, especially on my forehand," said Becker after the two hour and 11-minute match. "And I played against an opponent who won a tournament last week, who was still flying high on his emotions with his first-ever win. He played a great match."


Becker admitted, meanwhile, that he was slow on the court. That slowness was most evident and most costly when he served for the third set with a 5-3 lead. At deuce, he lumbered to the net and hit a backhand half-volley long to set up break point. McEnroe then angled a strong backhand return crosscourt, and Becker again got to it late, hitting another half-volley wide.


At the start of the tiebreaker, Becker had the look of a beaten man. He had been shouting at himself throughout the match, complaining to the umpire about calls, tossing his racket in the air and bouncing it off the court. It was a lot of histrionics to get himself going, but nothing worked.


Becker lost the first point of the tiebreaker when McEnroe chased down a backhand and drilled a perfect passing shot in the corner. McEnroe did not yield on his serve, putting away the final shot, appropriately on one more crosscourt backhand that Becker couldn't touch.


McEnroe said his brother offered encouragement more than strategy tips in their conversation last week after the Sydney victory. More than anything, though, McEnroe said lots of long, hard work was responsible for his recent success.


"It happens over a long period of time, when you try to improve," McEnroe said.


Becker left Flinders Park in the early hours of Wednesday morning fully aware that his performance raises a number of uncomfortable questions at a particularly delicate stage of his career.


Quite apart from wrecking his chances of challenging Pete Sampras' world No. 1 position, the timing of his 6-3 6-4 7-6 defeat could scarcely have been worse as negotiations continue over his participation for Germany in the Davis Cup.


The indications earlier in the week were that Becker's representatives and German federation officials were closer to an agreement, despite Becker's insistence he will not commit himself to playing every tie. Becker's first-round departure means he can scarcely claim his schedule is now too demanding to affect his availability for Germany's first round meeting with Croatia on Feb. 3 to 5.


(AP, Reuters)