McEnroe Impressively Stops Chesnokov in Straight Sets

John McEnroe can’t win the U.S. Open, can he?

If he can’t, then he’s doing a good job pretending. Under a three-quarter moon Friday night and a crowd of 19,233, McEnroe reached the fourth round with an impressive 6-3, 7-5, 6-4, third-round victory over a formidable opponent, 10th-ranked Andrei Chesnokov.

“I’m certainly going in the right direction,” said McEnroe, who came back from 0-4 in the second set, aided by a controversial line call that went against Chesnokov at 5-5.

“It’s certainly the best I’ve felt volleying,” McEnroe said. “I was controlling the volley. I wasn’t letting it get away from me.”

McEnroe had 23 volley winners, which offset his erratic serves--only 48% of his first serves were good, and he had seven double faults.

McEnroe, ranked No. 20 and unseeded for the first time in 13 years, is a four-time U.S. Open champion, the last time in 1984, which is also the last of his seven Grand Slam singles titles.

After a key break of Chesnokov’s serve at 3-3 in the third set, McEnroe eventually moved on to close out the match in 2 hours 11 minutes.

When it was over, as his backhand volley scooted across the court, McEnroe raised both arms in triumph, not once, but twice, and the 31-year-old New Yorker received standing ovations.

“They are happy to see me because they know it could be their last opportunity to see me play,” said McEnroe, who took four months off from the tour earlier this year.

In the fourth round, McEnroe meets No. 7-ranked Emilio Sanchez.