McEnroe to Miss Davis Cup Because of Injury

John McEnroe pulled out of this week’s Davis Cup semifinal against defending champions West Germany because of a shoulder injury, U.S. team officials said Sunday.

Brad Gilbert, ranked 15th in the world, will replace fifth-ranked McEnroe as the other singles player on the U.S. team, U.S. Tennis Assn. spokesman Ed Fabricius said from Munich.

Fabricius said McEnroe, whose shoulder pain and stiffness forced him to withdraw from the doubles competition at the recent Wimbledon championships, was diagnosed as having rotator cuff tendinitis. McEnroe was examined Friday by Irving Glick, the chief physician at the U.S. Open.

Gilbert has a 3-1 career record against Wimbledon champion Boris Becker, who will play singles and doubles for West Germany. Fabricius said U.S. captain Tom Gorman talked to Tim Mayotte and French Open champion Michael Chang about taking McEnroe’s place, but both were unavailable for next weekend.

Chang has recently returned to the United States after a holiday in Europe and Mayotte is still playing in Japan.

Andre Agassi will play the other singles as planned, with Ken Flach and Robert Seguso teaming up in the doubles.

The Americans tried not to let McEnroe’s absence affect their morale for the encounter at Munich’s indoor Olympic arena.

“We were disappointed when we heard John was out, but now we are here we have got to pull together and do what we are here to do. That is win,” Flach said.

West German doubles player Eric Jelen acknowledged that McEnroe’s absence increased the chances of the already-favored West Germans to win. “But it is obviously a blow to the event as a spectacle,” he said.