McEnroe Straight-setted by Larsson at Seniors Graz

"He has a big game and controls the ball well," McEnroe said. "He's got a lot of shots, I knew that. He played better than I did, I just didn't play good enough."

Larsson said his senior debut was a good time all around.

"It was fun to play McEnroe -- I had never played against him before," Larsson said. "He was reasonably calm today, a few minor outbursts but that's him. It was fun."

Other winners were Thomas Muster 6-3, 6-4 over Carl-Uwe Steeb, and Henri Leconte over Alex Antonitch in a third-set tiebreak.

If Muster beats McEnroe on Friday, the Austrian will reach the final for the second year in a row. If McEnroe wins, he can still be edged for the final if Larsson wins depending on the set scores.

"It's a big match," says Muster, who last week admitted he was out of shape, on facing McEnroe. "Everyone is looking forward to that match here in Austria. People are expecting me to play well and if I win I will reach the final. It's a difficult one for both of us but there is a little bit more pressure on my side probably."

In the other group Marcelo Rios takes on Goran Ivanisevic with the victor advancing to the Saturday final.

The third match Friday will be Larsson vs. Steeb.

WORLD SENIOR RANKINGS presented by Tennis-X.com
(Top 10 through Aug. 13, 2006)

1. Marcelo Rios (1200 pts.)
2. John McEnroe (885)
3. Sergi Bruguera (730)
4. Cedric Pioline (650)
5. Pat Cash (610)
6. Jim Courier (600)
7. Thomas Muster (500)
8T. Renzo Furlan (400)
8T. Richard Krajicek (400)
8T. Todd Martin (400)

The World Senior Rankings presented by Tennis-X.com is a cumulative ranking for senior tour players combining results from the Merrill Lynch Tour of Champions in Europe, and the Outback Champions Series in the U.S.