McEnroe’s Sweet Smile and Gentle Manners Hide the Old Power Game

MELBOURNE, Australia —  The new John McEnroe, Mr. Nice Guy, smiles sweetly, talks politely with the umpire, even tells jokes.

He kills with kindness yet once again brandishes a left-handed serve-and-volley game as lethal as it was when he ruled men’s tennis in the early 1980s.

McEnroe is not only a model of decorum these days, he’s winning again, gliding easily into the round of 16 at the Australian Open today with a 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 victory over fellow American Dan Goldie.

A month shy of 31, McEnroe says he has realized at last that the temper tantrums that once fired him up now merely burn him out.

As he looks ahead to his next match against Sweden’s Mikael Pernfors on Sunday, and a possible quarterfinal meeting with Yannick Noah, McEnroe is trying to conserve his energy.

If he gets past those two, he would probably meet defending champion Ivan Lendl in the semifinals.

“It’s not the sort of situation where you have energy to burn in this weather,” McEnroe said. “The heat can catch up to you at times.”

Not even hecklers and chatty fans in the record crowd of 21,028 could ruffle McEnroe, who displayed his full repertoire of shots and bounced around the court as if he were 21.

“I feel like I’m controlling play, that’s the main thing,” said McEnroe, who hasn’t dropped a set in three matches or given up more than three games in any set. “In the majors in the last few years, I’ve sort of gone out there flat--that’s suicide.”

McEnroe, who has given up fewer games--15--than anyone in the men’s draw, is easily in his best shape since winning his last Grand Slam titles, the U.S. Open and Wimbledon, in 1984. He’s hoping to combine his old-time savvy with his new-found desire and fitness.

“If I can just get to that point where I feel comfortable with myself physically . . . I feel like then all the other things just come out,” McEnroe said. “They just sort of come out like sweat on your shirt. . . . You don’t have to think about it too much.”

McEnroe only briefly questioned the call, but the crowd got on him immediately, one heckler baiting him with a cry of “Prima donna--come on, play tennis.”

McEnroe quietly resumed play.

When McEnroe later complained, correctly and mildly, about a press photographer standing too close to court, a fan yelled: “Come on, Johnny, be good.”

McEnroe kept his temper in control.

“There were a lot more people who seemed to talk a lot between the points,” McEnroe said. “It was disconcerting for both of us. It was hard to concentrate at times. I thought I did a good job of keeping my cool.”

Another player who stayed composed, though she admitted to a case of jitters before her first Grand Slam center court match, was Australia’s newest darling, 18-year-old Rachel McQuillan.

McQuillan, considered the best young Australian woman player since Evonne Goolagong 20 years ago, reached the round of 16 Friday night with a 6-2, 7-6 (7-4) upset of eighth-seeded Helen Kelesi of Canada.

“I think I’ve broken through now,” McQuillan said after beating a top-20 player for the first time. McQuillan entered the tournament ranked 54.

Two-time defending champion Steffi Graf survived 39 errors today to defeat Soviet Leila Meskhi, 6-4, 6-1. (Story, C2.)