WIMBLEDON TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS : Victorious McEnroe Wins Them Over

John McEnroe, rehabilitated by age and absence, returned to Wimbledon and, if he didn’t get a royal welcome--there was no royalty at Wimbledon Tuesday--he did get a nice hand.

This followed a gift, his No. 8 seeding, by a previously hostile management.

This, in turn, was followed by the equally generous opposition of somebody named Horst Skoff, whose clowning turned one-time Superbrat into a comparative model of maturity and decorum, much appreciated by the crowd at the All England Lawn Tennis Club.

Mac’s back, as the tabloids are hysterically proclaiming. And he is heralded as he has never been before. This from the Daily Mirror: “Mac’s a Good Guy.” Subhead: “He’s a new man now.”

This could be premature, of course. Such statements always have been. But his lack of showmanship stole the show on a day that historically belongs to the women.

Chris Evert, in her 100th singles match here, beat Alexia Dechaume, 6-1, 6-2, in first-round play and nobody cared.

Martina Navratilova, who is gunning for a record ninth women’s singles Wimbledon title, beat Sabrina Goles, 6-1, 6-2, and nobody noticed.

Steffi Graf, who is looking to complete the first Grand Slam since Margaret Smith Court did it in 1970, went through Hu Na, 6-0, 6-0, to little hurrah.

And Gabriela Sabatini, seeded fifth and tennis’ new pinup, swept through former pinup Carling Bassett Seguso, 6-2, 6-2, and a throng of young males at court No. 2 did pay attention to that match.

Most of the attention, though, was on three-time champion McEnroe, back after a two-year absence, during which he had injuries, children and, he says, he grew up. In anticipation of this new maturity, a standing-room-only crowd on Court 1 gave him a rousing, perhaps thunderous, welcome as he strode forth. He raised his hand in acknowledgment, and the crowd went wild.

“That was nice,” McEnroe said. “And hopefully it will get better the longer I’m around.”

McEnroe, on the strength of his 6-1, 7-5, 6-1 victory, figures to stay around longer, perhaps as long as the quarterfinals, where he may play Mats Wilander, who won his first-round match against Eduardo Masso, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6.

By then, the “former bad boy” could indeed have eaten a line judge or two. Or he may have only chewed up the opposition.

Neither his behavior nor his performance could be faulted Tuesday under typically gray skies. There was some evidence of a furious interior dialogue at one point, some head shaking, a wordless protest of a line call, but mostly McEnroe was ridiculously reserved.

And he was sporadically brilliant, always very good. Skoff never had a chance, chasing killer shots that had been set up with perfectly placed serves or returns, chess moves he never foresaw. Whereas McEnroe once acted the fool out of frustration, now it was Skoff’s turn, whose behavior crossed the line of comedy and went into farce, as when he curtsied to a line judge. “It was like a joke,” sniffed the new man.

Was it silly?

“To put it mildly.”

Was he acting like a . . . ?

“Ham. He’s not going to win a lot of friends in the locker room.”

It’s really too awful to talk about, isn’t it?

“A waste of my time to even think about him.”

This is McEnroe talking, now. He really is a good guy, don’t you think?

He is, for the moment at least, a happier player. Happier than during his last appearance, back in his tormented youth--he’s all of 29 now.

“Compared to ‘85, at that point it was all negative,” he said. “I was here after five straight finals, and I just didn’t want it enough. I was looking to lose. I played a guy (Kevin Curren) that served big that day, and it was dangerous on grass. I talked myself out of it.”

The time after that wasn’t a happy one, either.

“I’d had too much of tennis, and I wasn’t enjoying even being at the No. 1 position.”

McEnroe admitted that Wimbledon, especially, had become a monster for him. And he realizes that he created at least part of it.

But it’s forgive and forget, apparently. Wimbledon granted him the No. 8 seeding, which is unwarranted by his No. 19 ranking by the Assn. of Tennis Professionals.

“Well, I haven’t had a drink with too many of them,” McEnroe said. “But that was a nice gesture.”

But when somebody mentioned that young Boris Becker, a mere two-time champion, was saying McEnroe had mellowed, he flashed: “How would he know? He wasn’t around here when I would have kicked his . . . “

Meanwhile, another lion, his teeth somewhat dulled by age, was curling up with a first-round victory. Jimmy Connors, who hasn’t won this championship since 1982 and who hasn’t been the top-ranked player since 1977, beat Leif Shiras, 6-3, 7-6, 6-1, and then promised not to go gentle into that good night. At 35, with a chronically sore foot, he is of no mind to consider this tournament part of a farewell tour.

Last Wimbledon?

“I haven’t thought about it,” Connors said. “First of all, I’m playing pretty good tennis. It’s not justified, stopping, when I’m making finals of tournaments. This tennis, it’s fun. Playing guys 16, 17 years younger than me and they don’t like that.”

Connors, who like Evert is playing in his 17th Wimbledon, has also been rehabilitated by age here.

“The pressure’s been off for 15 years,” he said. “Everything else is gravy.”