TENNIS / AUSTRALIAN OPEN : Errors Doom Patrick McEnroe

Patrick McEnroe’s magic at the Australian Open ran out in a draining five-set match against Andrei Chesnokov after 92 errors capped by a double-fault into the net on match point.

McEnroe, a semifinalist last year, fell, 6-4, 1-6, 1-6, 6-1, 6-3, in a third-round match Friday about six hours before brother John was scheduled to play against defending champion Boris Becker.

Chesnokov broke the younger McEnroe in his last three service games, the final time with the help of an unforced error wide by McEnroe on an easy backhand at deuce. That was followed by two weak serves on match point.

David Wheaton, happy with his $2-million prize at the Grand Slam Cup but hoping to win a Grand Slam title this year, reached the fourth round with a 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 victory over Lars Koslowski. Wheaton pounded out five of his 10 aces in the final set.

Monica Seles has spent barely three hours on court and hasn’t dropped a set in her first three victories, the latest a 6-1, 6-1 romp in 50 minutes over Yayuk Basuki, the most-improved woman player in the world last year in rising from 266 to 35 in the rankings.

Seles, the top-seeded defending champion, used the match to sharpen her baseline game rather than the serve-and-volley style she has been working on in practice.

The neck muscle she strained last week is fine now, she said, though she’s still getting treatment for it. But she simply didn’t need to go to the net against Basuki, who made 42 errors to Seles’ 15.

“When I go out for a match, I never try anything tactical,” Seles said. “I just go out there and play. I never go into a match with a game plan.”

Jim Courier reached the third round Thursday with a 2-6, 6-3, 6-1, 6-4 victory over young Swedish hotshot Thomas Enqvist.

Courier drew a big crowd at center court, including fellow Floridian Jennifer Capriati, who watched with ice wrapped around her swollen right wrist and left knee after a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Noelle van Lottum.

Courier displayed the power and poise that could carry him to a second Grand Slam championship.

Enqvist, 17, the world junior’s champion last year, played like a Courier clone with strong right-handed forehands, two-fisted backhands and big serves.

The difference between them was Courier’s ability to raise his game a notch when necessary.

Courier stayed back most of the first set, trying to gauge the strengths and weaknesses of Enqvist and get used to the swirling wind.

Wimbledon champion Michael Stich struggled to win again as he looked confused by an erratic opponent, wild winds and a strange numbness in his arm. But he eventually solved all the problems to beat Jonas Svensson, 6-4, 6-1, 1-6, 6-4.

Courier, Capriati and Michael Chang led a parade of 13 Americans into the third round Thursday, giving U.S. players 20 of the 64 remaining berths in the men’s and women’s draws. Many of the others, such as Seles and Ivan Lendl, have lived and trained in the United States for a long time but aren’t yet citizens.

Chang closed out the day of U.S. victories by defeating Cristiano Caratti, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4.

A day after the European Community and other countries officially recognized Croatia, a breakaway republic of Yugoslavia, two Croatian seeds were among the victims of the American onslaught.

Aaron Krickstein blew away No. 10 Goran Ivanisevic, 6-2, 7-5, 6-1, and MaliVai Washington breezed to a 6-2, 6-4, 6-3 victory over No. 16 Goran Prpic.