McEnroe Is Upset; Connors Edges Cash

Australian Mark Woodeforde added to his string of upsets by ousting eighth-seeded John McEnroe, 6-2, 2-6, 6-2, Friday night in the quarterfinals of the Player’s International tennis tournament.

Earlier, Jimmy Connors withstood sweltering heat to win two tiebreakers and defeat Australia’s Pat Cash, 7-6, 7-6, and Kevin Curren beat an exhausted Tim Mayotte, 3-6, 6-4, 7-5.

Curren will play top-seeded Ivan Lendl, a 6-2, 6-2 winner over unseeded John Frawley of Australia, in one of today’s semifinals.

Woodforde, 22, the world’s 50th-ranked player, who upset No. 2-seeded Stefan Edberg of Sweden in the second round and 15th-seeded Peter Lundgren in the round of 16, outserved and outplayed McEnroe to earn a semifinal berth against Curran.

“I beat a legend,” Woodforde said. “It’s something you can tell your mates about back home and that the tennis world will know about.”

Woodforde broke McEnroe’s serve in the fifth and seventh games of the third set with an inspired serve-and-volley game.

“I like the way he plays,” McEnroe said. “He mixes up his shots well, not like a lot of guys who just try to it the ball as hard as they can.”