McEnroe Quits Australia Open

John McEnroe withdrew from the Australian Open tennis championships with a shoulder injury, organizers of the year’s first Grand Slam event announced today.

Tennis Australia President Geoff Pollard said the left-handed former world No. 1 withdrew because of an injury to his left shoulder suffered during practice in Hawaii.

McEnroe, who pulled out of the New South Wales Open in Sydney last week, would have been seeded 11th in the two-week tournament beginning Monday.

McEnroe was disqualified from the 1990 tournament after a clash with the chair umpire in his fourth-round match.

Defending men’s champion Ivan Lendl says he expects to play despite his default of a first-round match at the New South Wales Open because of a strained stomach muscle.