Australian Open Tennis Championships : McEnroe Advances, Shriver Ousted

John McEnroe survived an embarrassing ace before beating Nduka Odizor Sunday, but Pam Shriver was treated even more rudely at the $1.5 million Australian Open.

The second-seeded McEnroe struggled with his concentration but then ousted the Nigerian, 4-6, 6-2, 6-4, 6-2.

However, while McEnroe was sauntering around the court trying to collect his thoughts, Odizor, serving at 40-0 in the sixth game of the second set, aced him with a gentle underarm drop shot.

McEnroe simply dropped his head, but immediately discarded his nonchalant attitude and went on to overpower the world’s 77th-ranked player.

He will meet Frenchman Henri Leconte in the fourth round.

Shriver was not so fortunate. In the upset of the day, the women’s fourth-seeded player lost to Sweden’s Caterina Lindqvist, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.

Lindqvist, a 22-year-old from Malmo, came from being down 3-6, 1-3 and 15-30 on Shriver’s service.

She reeled off 10 straight games to lead, 5-0, in the final set. Shriver then rallied to 2-5, saving two match points before again dropping her serve.

Lindqvist earned a quarterfinal meeting with fifth-seeded Claudia Kohde-Kilsch of West Germany.

Top-seeded Ivan Lendl of Czechoslovakia and Paul Annacone were each fined $500 for rule violations during their third-round matches.

Lendl was fined for an obscenity in his 6-3, 1-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory over Ben Testerman, while Annacone was fined for racket abuse during his 7-5, 6-3, 6-3 loss to Tim Wilkison.

Lendl joined the swelling ranks of players who have condemned the center court here as the worst grass court in the world.

“It’s no good running around and chasing hard for shots and run the risk of falling over,” he said. “The courts are in bad condition.”

Asked what could be done to improve the courts, he said: “I think they should pour concrete on it overnight and start again tomorrow.”

On the other hand, defending champion Mats Wilander, who trounced Leif Shiras, 6-2, 6-3, agreed with McEnroe and Lendl that the courts are too slippery, but said: “I don’t think it’s any worse than last year.”

Fifth-seeded Stefan Edberg of Sweden came from a set down and 1-6 in the second-set tiebreaker to edge Matt Anger, 5-7, 7-6, 6-4, 7-5.

“I was in deep trouble today,” Edberg said. “I’m not playing my best, but as long as I win I’m happy.”

Edberg will meet Australia’s Wally Masur in the fourth round after Masur defeated compatriot Brod Dyke, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2.

In another men’s match, unseeded Michiel Schapers of the Netherlands, who caused the biggest upset of the tournament by defeating Wimbledon champion Boris Becker in the second round, reach the round of 16 with a 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 victory over Huub Van Boekel.

Third-seeded Hana Mandlikova ended Australian Wendy Turnbull’s run of two successive 6-0, 6-0 victories with a 6-3, 6-4 win. Mandlikova will play Zina Garrison in the quarterfinals. Garrison, seeded sixth, defeated Ann Henricksson, 4-6, 6-1, 6-3.

In the remaining women’s match, eighth-seeded Helena Sukova of Czechoslovakia ousted Australian teen-ager Amanda Dingwall, 6-3, 6-1. Sukova faces Martina Navratilova next.