Patrick McEnroe still cannot escape the shadow of older brother, John.

"Are you McEnroe's brother?'' innocently asked one spectator at the XL Tennis Classic in obvious reference to the former world number one.

"Yes, I am,'' answered Patrick, with a chuckle, noting that this was often the case wherever he travelled.

Indeed the younger McEnroe -- 27 years-old and single -- does bear a strong physical resemblance to his star sibling and admits to having been strongly influenced by John as well as another brother, little known Mark.

But make no mistake, Patrick is his own man. A solid tennis player, with definite goals about what he wants to accomplish in his chosen profession as well as life.

While the volatile John, as a southpaw, utilised the finesse game of serve and volleying and possessed a great touch, right-handed Patrick is more soft-spoken and tends to hover more around the baseline, waiting to counterpunch and pounce on any mistakes made by an opponent.

He is a graduate of Stanford with a degree in Political Science and added that a future life in politics was not totally out of the question.

"I've always tried to follow my own goals and values,'' said McEnroe, relaxing after a hard fought three-set victory over fellow American Jared Palmer. "I went to college, which was something I always wanted to do, and got my degree.

"I felt that I would do what I wanted to do and if that meant playing tennis then it meant playing tennis. I've always tried to do my own thing with the knowledge that I'm not the player my brother is or was ... but who is? "I feel I've been fairly successful and I always try to improve, get better and get the most out of myself and I think if you do that you'll be happy.'' And where was that on-court tirade performed and perfected by John during his storied -- stormy -- career, targeting umpires, line judges or anyone within earshot.

The closest Patrick came to losing his cool saw him attempt to administer punishment by kicking at an unsuspecting tennis ball while trailing 4-0 in the third set.

But as was the distressful state of his game at that stage ... he missed and the enemy was spared.

"It would be wrong for people to say I'm like my brother in that way.

"Where it (temper) comes from you would have to ask him. It was part of what made him a great player.

"Maybe if I had that I'd be a better player, but I'm a different person and I try to do things my own way. I get mad out there ... I've broken a racket here and there and it doesn't bother me, I do what's best for me.'' After turning pro in 1988 McEnroe steadily scaled the rankings, reaching a high of 36 at the end of 1991.

In between he won the men's doubles at the 1989 French Open paired with Jim Grabb and reached the semifinals of the 1991 Australian Open competing in singles before losing to Germany's Boris Becker.

Disaster, though, struck in 1992 as he plummeted out of the top 100 and it appeared his star had dimmed.

Ironically, the New Yorker said that the decline may have been caused by his concentrating too much on getting into better physical shape and neglecting the game itself.

"I lost perspective on playing matches,'' he said. "Tennis is about competing and winning. No matter how great a shape you're in, if you can't do that (win) it doesn't matter.

"That helped me (the training), but I had to readjust my focus in getting back to what it takes to win tennis matches. I feel that now I'm combining things well.

"This year was kind of a rebound year for me, I'm back in the top 100 and I hope by next year I can get back to where I was in '91.'' No doubt the latter will be a difficult task with parity among the men's tour at an all-time high and phenomenons rising by the moment.

McEnroe entered this tournament after taking a month off from play in Europe to rehabilitate an injured knee and also just recently finished decorating his apartment in New York, which he described as a major operation.

After the XL Classic it is off to another Island paradise, Hawaii -- life on the tour is so stressful.

Coming to Bermuda he noted it to be a refreshing experience, especially with the friendliness of the people regardless of a person's luminary status.

He also noted that the event currently underway at Coral Beach was a great idea and that the Island had great potential for hosting other major tennis events.

BRYAN SHELTON -- One of the few moments he appeared in control during Monday's 6-2, 6-4 loss to Ctislav Dosedel in the XL Tennis Classic at Coral Beach and Tennis Club.

BIG FOREHAND -- Franco Davin of Argentina in action against Maurice Ruah of Venezuela on Monday. Davin won 6-4, 6-3.

PATRICK MCENROE -- Despite being John McEnroe's brother is determined to make a name for himself in tennis.