TENNIS / THOMAS BONK : Establishment Is Latest McEnroe Target

John McEnroe is not about to go quietly, judging from his fourth-round performance at the U.S. Open and a few of his comments about the direction of the men’s game.

McEnroe is highly critical of the power at the top and directed a few barbs at Newsweek Champions Cup promoter Charlie Pasarell.

“The reality is that the players don’t have a goddamned thing to do with the tour,” McEnroe said. “The tournament directors run the tour, ITF (International Tennis Federation) runs the Grand Slams and the majors, and they have done nothing for me in any way, shape, about anything.”

McEnroe, who plans to play in the ITF’s Grand Slam Cup, was asked why he chose not to play when the event began several years ago.

“I did it for the ATP (and) what do we get in return? They want us to play more and more events. Then they have tournament directors like Charlie Pasarell criticizing the top players, saying how spoiled we are all the time.

“They expect us to go to their events. It is a joke. . . . I don’t think it is in the best interests of the game that tournament directors run tennis. I think that is a joke. They make all this money and then they go around saying how much the top players make.

“Ask Charlie Pasarell how much money he makes. See if he has the right to criticize the top players. It bothers me when people stab us in the back, then turn around and use us.”

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Mac book on it: McEnroe said the U.S. has a pretty good chance to beat Sweden in the Davis Cup semifinals. Actually, the chances are better than pretty good, McEnroe said.

“I say the U.S. has a chance, in my opinion, 95 out of 100 chances,” he said. “I see a very slim chance that we were going to lose to them.

“I don’t see it on clay the way Jim (Courier) and Andre (Agassi) are playing. I don’t see (Stefan Edberg) beating either of them.”

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Cup update: If the U.S. follows McEnroe’s blueprint and beats Sweden, the Davis Cup final will played Dec. 4-6, at the Tarrant County Convention Center in Ft. Worth, Tex.

Switzerland plays Brazil for the chance to meet the U.S.-Sweden winner in the final.

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Mr. Alliteration: Contributed by Ivan Lendl, delivered in response to whether he “bunted” the ball against Chuck Adams, continuing an issue first raised by Jimmy Connors.

“If it is a bunt, then why does Chuck duck?”

Um, how much wood . . .

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Glad you asked: Want to go fishing in Monica Seles’ stream of consciousness? Put on your life preserver.

After her match against Gigi Fernandez, she was asked, “As a kid, did you follow tennis?”

Her answer: “Pretty much growing up, the only matches that I got to watch was the finals at Wimbledon, so I got to see Martina (Navratilova) and Chris (Evert). Whenever my parents would, you know, travel out of the country, they would bring back Chrissy’s racket or Martina’s poster. Few years ago, when I went back, I saw Martina’s racket in my room. I was like, that is pretty different.

“And then just really grew up more watching (Bjorn) Borg, because he is my brother’s idol, and wear the same clothes and play with the same racket, everything, he is a big Borg fan.

“That is the only tournament I watch. I didn’t have an idea what you had to do to become No. 1. I pretty much thought there were the finals of Wimbledon, not six matches before to win it. I didn’t know pretty much until I was 14, the ranking system. I still don’t get it. I still have a few years to go.”

Got it? No? You still have a few years to go.

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Mind game: Some believe there really isn’t much difference in talent in the men’s field from the top five to, say, the next 50 or so. Michael Chang agrees.

“Tennis is such a mind game (but) you really wouldn’t see it out on the tennis court,” he said. “You think it is just backhands and forehands and big serves.

“Actually, it is your mind that puts everything together. If your mind is not there, it doesn’t matter how good you are or how talented you are, you are not going to be out there and play your best tennis.

“I know that is probably one of the major differences between some of the top guys and some of the players ranked lower--how much confidence you have in yourself.

“It is not so much of a cockiness or conceit, it is more of, I guess, an assurance of like, ‘I am one of the best in the world and I deserve to be here.’ ”

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Pet news: Roland, Arantxa Sanchez Vicario’s Yorkshire terrier, who travels in a custom-made Louis Vuitton bag, has discovered a favorite food at the U.S. Open--Haagen-Dazs ice cream bars.

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Michael vs. Pete: Chang and Pete Sampras will play an exhibition, the Disneyland Tennis Challenge, at 7 p.m. Oct. 1, at the Bren Events Center at UC Irvine with portions of the proceeds to benefit the Orange County Sports Hall of Fame, the UCI Athletic Fund and the Los Angeles Times Fund.

Tennis Notes

Pam Shriver and Zina Garrison presented scholarship grants to 10 promising female players, administered by the Maureen Connolly Brinker Tennis Foundation. Winners of the second annual Clairol/WTA tennis scholarships included Californians Ania Bleszynski, 15, of Thousand Oaks, and Pam Nelson, 17, of Ross. . . . A new senior tour--not to be confused with the ATP’s or Jimmy Connors’, is on track for next year. The ADVANTA Seniors Tour opens with an eight-man event in Chicago. A tournament is scheduled Dec. 3-6 at the Los Angeles Tennis Club.