TENNIS ROUNDUP : Evernden Chips Away at McEnroe

Kelly Evernden used a change-up serve to upset defending champion John McEnroe, 6-2, 6-4, Thursday in the third round of the U.S. Hardcourts championship at Indianapolis.

In another upset, 14th-seeded Richey Reneberg took advantage of third-seeded Aaron Krickstein’s shaky serve, 6-4, 6-2.

Top-seeded Boris Becker and No. 2 Andre Agassi each needed tiebreakers to advance with straight-set victories. Becker beat No. 15 Kevin Curren, 7-6 (7-4), 6-4, and Agassi struggled before defeating amateur Todd Martin, 7-6 (7-3), 6-4.

Krickstein, ranked ninth in the world, lost his serve three times.

“My serve put me in a whole in both sets. My game flows with my serve,” he said.

Evernden kept the fifth-seeded McEnroe off-balance with a confusing off-speed serve that had McEnroe standing still.

“The difference between playing John now and three or four years ago is that he doesn’t have that aura of invincibility anymore,” said Evernden, ranked 78th in the world. “He had this wall built up around him for a long time, but people have been chipping away at it for some time.”

McEnroe took Evernden to deuce in the final game before Evernden hit a forehand that McEnroe watched sail by.

“He’s hot and cold, and today he was hot,” McEnroe said. “But then I didn’t do anything to make him cold either.”

McEnroe was hoping to use the U.S. Hardcourts to prepare for the U.S. Open beginning Aug. 27. Now, he’s thinking of passing next week’s event in Long Island to concentrate on the mental part of his game.

Andres Gomez simply threw away his match with Christo van Rensburg in the Volvo International at New Haven, Conn.

Gomez trailed, 5-4, in a third-set tiebreaker when he served into the net for a double fault. Then his racket broke when he slammed it to the court in frustration. Chair umpire Richard Kaufman, who warned Gomez earlier for a similar incident, penalized him a point, giving van Rensburg the victory.

“That’s the rule,” van Rensburg said. “Everyone knows that’s the rule. That’s why he didn’t complain.”

Gomez, of Ecuador, said that after more than 2 hours 40 minutes in the heat he couldn’t help but get upset.

“I just reacted,” he said. “I think we should be allowed to show our emotions.”

According to the rule, a player may not “violently or with anger hit, kick or throw a racket or other equipment.”

“It’s entirely the chair umpire’s judgment on whether it was thrown violently or dangerously,” tour supervisor Mark Darby said.

An emotional player, Gomez said he was especially frustrated by his play against van Rensburg.

“It’s tough when you’re playing someone like Christo,” Gomez said. “He’s tough and makes you work and puts pressure on you.”

Gomez, seeded second, said he was upset that he gave van Rensburg so many opportunities.

“I had all the chances to win and he had only one or two. But he took advantage of it,” he said.

Seventh-seeded Jonas Svensson was upset by Mark Woodforde, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4.

In other matches, fifth-seeded Andrei Chesnokov defeated No. 12 Jim Grabb, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3; No. 11 Wally Masur beat Paul Chamberlin, 6-7 (7-4), 6-3, 6-3; Todd Woodbridge defeated Brad Pearce, 6-4, 6-4; Derrick Rostagno ousted Jim Pugh, 6-2, 6-2; Bryan Shelton beat MaliVai Washington, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (7-1), and Cristiano Caratti of Italy outlasted No. 13 Amos Mansdorf of Israel, 5-7, 7-6 (7-5), 6-3.