Moroccan El Aynaoui savoring his winning ways.(Chicago Tribune)

Byline: Bonnie DeSimone

NEW YORK _ Younes El Aynaoui occasionally skips around the court between points as if he's setting off down the yellow brick road. Corkscrew dreadlocks bouncing, eyes wide, he looks more like a tennis fantasy camper than a veteran pro.

But it appears the Moroccan, who will turn 32 next week, already has been to see the wizard.

There's no doubt he has brains; he speaks six languages. His competitive heart thumps visibly, and durably, as witnessed by his latest cardiac classic, in which he outlasted Czech Jiri Novak in a fifth-set tiebreak to reach the U.S. Open round of 16 before a deliriously happy crowd.

Thirteen years ago, El Aynaoui (pronounced ah-now-we), the son of two government workers, had the courage to answer a help-wanted ad, jump on a plane and head for a well-known Florida tennis academy. He drove a bus and picked up after pupils in exchange for room, board and limited use of the facility's 70 courts_his idea of the Emerald City.

"I wasn't really good, you know, until 23, 24," said El Aynaoui, the 22nd seed, who will play No. 7 Carlos Moya of Spain whenever it stops raining in Queens. "I never had a chance to talk to a famous coach or somebody like this and tell him, `I really want to do it.""

El Aynaoui's game was raw when he emigrated. He got in a hit or two with elite players and eventually started to claw his way through qualifying tournaments. He turned pro in 1990 and didn't win his first ATP event until 1999.