The best American hope to win the French Open, which begins Sunday in Paris, has pulled out of tennis' second major of the season.
Andy Roddick, ranked No. 6 in the world but not a super clay player, withdrew due to a right shoulder injury.
Roddick, who lost in the first round at Roland Garros the last two years, retired from the semifinals of the Rome Masters on May 10. He then skipped the Hamburg Masters but had been expected to play this week at the World Team Cup in Duesseldorf.
However, Roddick has star power, having won the 2003 U.S. Open and reaching three other Grand Slam finals, losing twice to Roger Federer at Wimbledon and once to him at the U.S. Open.
Roddick was hurt earlier this month in the Italian Masters when he was forced to retire in the first set of a semifinal match against Switzerland's Stanislas Wawrinka.
"He (Roddick) is still struggling with his shoulder injury," said John Roddick, Andy's brother who is captaining the United States team at this week's World Team Cup. "It's a real pity, because Andy was playing his best ever tennis on the clay. He is really disappointed.
"Last Friday, the pain came back, he went to see his specialist and after being looked at, he decided to withdraw."
Roddick, a two-time winner on the ATP tour this year, is hoping to be back in action at Queen's Club for the major warm-up tournament for Wimbledon."He needs to take a good 10 days, 12 days, just rest," John Roddick said.
The third round is as far as Roddick has progressed at Roland Garros, in his debut in 2001, with second-round exits coming in 2004 and 2005.
Meanwhile, Australia's best player, Lleyton Hewitt, said he'll practice at Roland Garros this week before deciding whether to take part in the tournament.
The world No. 26 player and former U.S. Open and Wimbledon champ has been suffering from a hip injury. Hewitt sustained the injury at the Masters Series tournament in Indian Wells in March and already withdrew from the clay-court tournaments in Rome and Hamburg.
"I thought it best to go to Paris and start my originally planned preparation, in the hope that the hip will be OK for me to compete,' Hewitt said. "I am being optimistic about playing the French and also the grass-court season, especially Wimbledon.'
The former world No. 1 last year failed to reach a Grand Slam quarterfinal for the first time since 1999. His best results came at the French Open and Wimbledon, where he made the fourth round. He has an 11-7 record this year.Of course, the French Open already is without former women's world No. 1 Justine Henin, who shockingly announced her immediate retirement from tennis last week. She is the three-time reigning champion of this event.
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