Organisers slams Agassi

Masters Cup organisers have slammed Andre Agassi after his withdrawal from the Shanghai tournament. The former world number one pulled out with an ankle injury following his defeat to Nicolay Davydenko on Monday.

Agassi joins top-five players Andy Roddick, Marat Safin and Lleyton Hewitt on the sidelines. "I don't appreciate what Agassi is doing. He made the announcement without telling anyone," said organising committee deputy director Wang Liqun.

"In 2000, when Agassi came for the Heineken Open, he took an early exit in the first round. Two years later in the Masters Cup, after two defeats, he cited a hip injury and took off. This year it happened again. We feel like we bought a Mercedes only to find 60% of the parts are no longer the ones we paid for."

Agassi hurt ankle ligaments playing racquetball four weeks ago and did not appear to be match fit against Davydenko. The high-profile withdrawals have sparked a debate about player burn-out with Agassi calling for a changes to the event schedule.

But Masters Cup tournament director Brad Drewett put the latest round of injuries down to bad luck. "Both Rafael and Andre being injured in one day is extraordinary," he said. "It's just incredibly unfortunate.

"Is it because of a long season? I don't have the answer to that. With the nature of the sport there are going to be injuries. However, we do need to look at addressing some of the issues in terms of schedule."

Nadal pulled out before his opening match with a foot injury, Roddick has an ongoing back problem, Safin has a knee injury and Hewitt is awaiting the birth of his first child. - BBC Sport