WIMBLEDON REPORT : Top-Seeded Edberg Uses Strength to Sweep Out McEnroe, 7-6, 6-1, 6-4

It was a philosophical John McEnroe who lost in the fourth round Tuesday, bowing out of his 13th Wimbledon tournament on Centre Court, where he has won three titles.

He lost to top-seeded Stefan Edberg, 7-6 (7-4), 6-1, 6-4, and talked afterward about his chances to win here in the future, and about life in general.

“I think I can win Wimbledon again, but it’s certainly a longshot,” McEnroe said. “No question about it. It doesn’t get any easier as you get older. It would be fantastic to be able to do it, but hope springs eternal. . . . Certainly, I’m not going to bet my life savings on it.”

Against a taller, stronger, younger Edberg, McEnroe had few chances. He had a break point in Edberg’s first service game, but Edberg aced him on the next point. He got Edberg into a tiebreaker in the first set, then double-faulted once and let the talented Swede run off to a 5-1 lead, en route to the eventual 7-4 score.

The second set was over in 24 minutes, and Edberg ran off a streak of 15 consecutive points and 19 of 21 to take a 7-6, 6-1 lead.

In the third set, McEnroe broke immediately and opened a 3-0 lead, but Edberg turned it up a notch and, with McEnroe serving at 3-3, played an incredible game. He spanked back a first serve for a winner off his backhand side, did the same on the next point off his forehand, nudged a gentle half-volley cross-court for 0-40 and then, at 15-40, chased down McEnroe’s volley in the right corner of the deuce service box, hitting it past, not over, the net on the right and into the deep corner.

“I’m playing pretty solid tennis, I’m doing everything good at the moment,” Edberg said. “There’s lots of hard work behind it, but I’m definitely playing good tennis now.”

McEnroe agreed with Edberg and said that, while he wants to win here again, his life has changed, and so have his priorities.

In fact, so philosophical was McEnroe that he ended his news conference to a huge laugh when he said, “You know, life is just one long learning experience.”

Also advancing in the men’s bracket, on a day when rain stopped play in midafternoon, were Jim Courier, the French Open champion, who defeated Karl Novacek, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2; Michael Stich, who beat Alexander Volkov, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5, 1-6, 7-5, and David Wheaton, who hurried past Jan Gunnarsson, 6-4, 6-3, 6-1.

In the women’s bracket, Steffi Graf and Mary Joe Fernandez got through to the semifinals and will play each other Thursday. Graf avenged last year’s defeat to Zina Garrison by routing her, 6-1, 6-3, and Fernandez, seeded fifth, posted a mild upset by beating Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, seeded fourth, 6-2, 7-5.

But the biggest news on the women’s side of the draw was a match that didn’t end because of rain. In that one, Jennifer Capriati, 15, took the first set against defending champion Martina Navratilova on Centre Court, 6-4, and when the rains came Navratilova was about to serve with a 3-2 lead in the second set.

Capriati, 19 years Navratilova’s junior, was hitting out on every shot and playing loose and easy. She appeared perfectly capable of winning the match, but the rain delay may have changed those dynamics when they resume play today.

Mistaken Identity: It was a nice story the other day when Sandon Stolle, son of former tennis star Fred Stolle, played McEnroe on Centre Court and said he spotted his father, a tennis broadcaster, part way through the match in the booth. He said he knew it was his father because, after he won a set from McEnroe, somebody stood up in the booth and raised both arms.

Come to find out, that wasn’t Fred Stolle. It was his broadcast partner, Tony Trabert.