U.S. Open Notebook : McEnroe Is Bothered but Not by Nystrom

Five rounds into the men’s competition, the U.S. Open officially got under way Wednesday night.

That’s when John McEnroe finally got around to throwing his ceremonial first tantrum.

With Joakim Nystrom providing little opposition during a 6-1, 6-0, 7-5 McEnroe victory, Mac had to turn elsewhere to find an adversary capable of getting the blood pumping. And everywhere he turned, he found one.

A backcourt lineswoman. Chair umpire Steve Winyard. Tournament referee Bob Howe.

Even CBS.

Two things particularly perturbed McEnroe. One was a line call in his favor that was reversed during the third set. The other was the positioning of a CBS microphone near McEnroe’s courtside seat.

The line call came with McEnroe leading, 2-0, in the third set. On break point, McEnroe hit a forehand down the line that was first ruled a winner, then called long.

Before the lineswoman had reversed her call, McEnroe had already walked off the court and settled into his seat, thinking he had just taken a 3-0 lead. Winyard upheld the reversal, calling McEnroe back on the court--and starting McEnroe’s temper to flare.

Nystrom came back to win the game--only his second of the match at that juncture--and eventually rallied for a 5-5 tie. Watching the momentum shift, McEnroe yelled, “See what a bonehead call can do!”

That was just the start. Later in the third set, McEnroe became incensed about the courtside microphone. CBS, which is televising the U.S. Open, uses the microphone to pick up the sound of the racket hitting the tennis ball and occasional comments from players.

McEnroe objected to the way the CBS sound technician was holding the microphone.

“Anybody should be able to hold it up. He holds it like a sword,” McEnroe said. “He points it in my direction more than other players. It’s like, ‘Oh, McEnroe is going to question another call.’ ”

In the first set, McEnroe requested that the sound man move elsewhere. He did. But in the third set, he was back--and Mac went wild.

Howe, called onto the court to settle the issue, found himself in McEnroe’s line of fire. “You quit drinking in the back, Bob. Do your job!” McEnroe shouted at Howe. “I wanted him (the sound man) removed two sets ago.”

Later, McEnroe expounded.

“Bob Howe is sitting in here (the press room), not even watching the match,” he said. “This is too important a tournament, too important a match.

“This guy (the sound man) is not an integral part of the system. They use that microphone to pick up things we say under our breath. Especially this guy; this has been going on for years.

“I’m not imagining things. I’m in the heat of the match. I don’t need this. . . . What would happen--would the stands crumble down if he was removed?”

The debate spilled over into the interview room, when one reporter asked McEnroe: “Who do you want to hold it (the microphone)--your mom?”

McEnroe: “That’s a bleep thing to say.”

One question later, the press conference was over. McEnroe was up and gone.

It had been an eventful night for the U.S. Open. McEnroe had finally lost his temper.

Let the games begin.

Mats Wilander joined McEnroe in the men’s semifinals when his quarterfinal opponent, fellow Swede Anders Jarryd, was forced to retire in the third set because of heat exhaustion.

Wilander was leading, 2-6, 6-2, 5-0 (15-0), when persistent dizzy spells and stomach discomfort forced Jarryd to stop play. It was the first time a men’s singles player had retired from a U.S. Open quarterfinal since 1979, when Eddie Dibbs retired in a match against McEnroe.

“I was feeling terrible out there,” Jarryd said. “I would feel dizzy, then it would stop again. Then I would freeze. When it was so hot out there (midday temperatures were in the 90s) and I was starting to freeze, I knew there might be something wrong.

“Of course you’re disappointed, after you’ve been working so hard. You really want to be out there and show the people a good match, but what can you do? I’m just a human being.”

Wilander said Jarryd made the right decision by retiring.

“If it’s too hot and you feel like nearly fainting, I think you should give up. It makes no sense to fight. It’s bad for your health,” he said.

It wasn’t the way Wilander wanted to qualify for his first U.S. Open semifinal, but he’ll take it.