Paris Rally Isn’t Enough for McEnroe

PARIS — His tennis shorts and shirt soiled by the powdery clay of Roland Garros Stadium, his rally from two sets down having fallen short, John McEnroe bid adieu as a singles player to the French Open on Tuesday.

He lost a first-round match to power hitter Nicklas Kulti of Sweden, 6-2, 7-5, 6-7 (7-5), 7-5. As hard as he tried, McEnroe, 33, could not find his former magic.

Kulti, who is ranked No. 96, was overwhelming. Even when McEnroe, inspired by a supportive crowd, played well, he had to fight for most points.

Kulti, 21, said he enjoyed the big crowd, the big match. And when it was over, he thought not of ending a legend’s career in Paris, but of a victory that carried him to the next round.

McEnroe thought of the sting of an emotional loss.

After failing to handle Kulti’s cross-court passing shot to end the match, McEnroe walked over to his seat and buried his head. The moment, like McEnroe, did not last long. He got up in the din of center court and waved goodby to the French, who paid homage to one of the world’s most electrifying players of the past 15 years.

Despite winning seven Grand Slam titles, McEnroe has never won the French Open. In one of his most disappointing losses, he reached the 1984 French final before falling to Ivan Lendl, 3-6, 2-6, 6-4, 7-5, 7-5.

While McEnroe will move into the broadcast booth today to do commentary for network television, Lendl has no plans to do anything but continue playing. He beat Sergi Bruguera, a Spanish clay-court specialist, 6-4, 6-2, 6-1.

Lendl, 32, making his first appearance at Roland Garros in two years, played like his former self, but No. 2 Stefan Edberg struggled against Oliver Soules of France before advancing, 7-5, 6-1, 6-7 (7-5), 7-5.

In one of the best matches of the day, David Wheaton rallied from two sets down and trailing, 3-1, in the third, to defeat Andrei Chesnokov of Moscow, 3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-0, 6-2.

Derrick Rostagno of Pacific Palisades beat Karel Novacek of Czechoslovakia, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-7 (8-6), 6-3, and reportedly Novacek hit Rostagno in the chest afterward. French Open referee Gilbert Ysern said he is investigating.

On a slow day for the women, No. 1 Monica Seles defeated Catherine Mothes of France in 47 minutes, 6-1, 6-0, and No. 3 Gabriela Sabatini breezed past Silvia Farina of Italy, 6-0, 6-0.

Most of the day’s emotion was saved for McEnroe’s early evening encounter against Kulti, who launches shots with powerful strokes. McEnroe said he had trouble adjusting to the court’s bounces during the first set and could not fully recover.

“There were a lot of easier draws than him,” McEnroe said.

McEnroe, always the perfectionist, was upset with his play, which at its worst lacked flair. He was unable to handle the fast-paced action of Kulti’s booming shots.

“That really inspired me,” Kulti said of drawing McEnroe and playing at center court.

McEnroe, who will play doubles this week with Andre Agassi, was sad to end his French career without a championship. But he was resigned to it.

“Everything comes to an end,” he said. “My time has passed and it is time for other people.”

One of McEnroe’s contemporaries, Jimmy Connors, 39, hopes to be among the others today when he faces fourth-seeded Michael Stich of Germany. If Connors can stay around awhile, the tournament will have at least one of tennis’ interesting personalities.

But, as McEnroe said, it is a different game now.

“I think the game could use some more personalities . . . there’s no question about that,” McEnroe said. “It’s the not same as it was 10 years ago, or even five yearsago.”

If anyone beyond the flamboyant Agassi, who won Tuesday, can inject some flavor to Grand Slam events, perhaps it will be the unlikely Lendl, who dropped out of the top 10 ranking for the first time in 13 years after the Italian Open two weeks ago.

When asked about his ranking, No. 11 Lendl jokingly said he thought about retiring because he is no longer among the top 10 players in the world rankings.

When pressed about retirement, Lendl replied: “Yeah. That was on a good day. On a bad day, I thought about killing myself.”

After that, he said, he would “become a German shepherd, or something. If I really want to punish myself, maybe an Italian journalist.”

Whatever he becomes, Lendl looked as if he could return to the top 10 with his methodical, strong ground strokes. He started slowly, then dominated Bruguera, advertised as one of the players who might do well at Roland Garros.

“Sergi wasn’t hitting very heavy,” Lendl said. “I just felt, if I lose, I am going to lose by swinging, not by being pushed around.”

Lendl, who could not play in the French Open last year because of hand surgery, might have been forgotten too soon, as few tennis experts expected much from him.

Tennis Notes

Saying he feels relaxed and happy for the first time in eight months, Andre Agassi made his French debut and swept past Javier Frana of Argentina, 6-4, 6-2, 6-1. . . . John McEnroe, hoping he and Agassi might become a U.S. Davis Cup doubles team, sported a goatee to match his partner.