Calls Australian Court Worst He’s Played : McEnroe Fined, Suspended for Cursing

While slipping and sliding his way to a second-round victory in the Australian Open, John McEnroe today unleashed a string of obscenities about conditions on center court that drew him a $1,250 fine and a 21- to 42-day suspension from tennis.

McEnroe beat South African Danie Visser 6-4, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 to advance to the next round. During his triumph, McEnroe was given a code violation for an audible obscenity and carried on a running argument with officials during the 2 hour, 23 minute match.

McEnroe, who was watched by his girlfriend, Tatum O’Neal, later said the court on the left side of the main arena was “without a doubt the worst grass court” he had ever played on.

Visser, a sturdy and determined left-hander, kept McEnroe at full stretch and the American grew increasingly angry as he kept losing his footing.

“The court is simply not good enough to play a Grand Slam tournament on,” McEnroe said.

During the third set, McEnroe asked referee Peter Bellenger if the players could move to the court on the right side of the main arena, which had been used for the first four days, but the request was refused.

McEnroe later slipped and told the balding Bellenger: “If this court is OK, you’ve got hair on your head.”

“It’s not really tennis any more, it is fighting for survival,” McEnroe said at a news conference afterward.

He found an unlikely ally in defending women’s singles champion Chris Evert Lloyd, who also criticized the court after struggling to a second-round victory over compatriot Betsy Nagelsen.

“The court certainly favors the underdog,” Evert Lloyd said. “It is hard, but seems slippery.”

McEnroe, who was involved in an incident with a reporter and photographer at his hotel Tuesday, today felled a photographer with a smash on a practice court. He apologized immediately and bystanders said it did not appear intentional.

In addition to the fine, McEnroe must serve either a 21-day suspension with no tennis at all, or a 42-day suspension from exhibition matches.