The series of events that lead to McEnroe’s dismissal came after McEnroe won the first set 6-3 and with Washington serving at 4-2, ad-in, in the second set in the opening round-robin match for both players. Arguing a line-call, McEnroe was issued a code violation warning for an audible obscenity by chair umpire Ray Brodeur. McEnroe continued his tirade against Brodeur and was issued consecutive abuse of official code violations. According to the Outback Champions Series Code of Conduct, match defaults are a four-step process, with the first violation resulting in a warning. The second violation results in a point penalty, a third violation - a game penalty and a fourth violation - a match default. McEnroe’s three violations gave Washington the second set 6-2 (the point penalty giving Washington the game for a 5-2 lead and the game penalty giving him the set by a 6-2 margin.) As McEnroe continued his tirade, fans at the Newport Casino became vocal and restless and began to yell at McEnroe to continue playing. McEnroe responded to the fans with a visible obscene gesture which resulted in a fourth code violation from Brodeur and McEnroe’s immediate default from the match.

Jon Venison, the Outback Champions Series co-founder and supervisor, was summoned to the court and confirmed the code violations and the default.

McEnroe did not meet with press following the incidents but will continue to compete in the eight-player round-robin format event. He is next scheduled to play Karel Novacek on Friday.

"All players must abide by the same rules," said Venison. "Umpires tend to be intimated by John which generally means they are more lenient with him. He crossed the line today. We are dealing with a group of extremely competitive guys, and John is one of them. He agreed to the first three code violations, but disagreed with the fourth (for an obscene gesture). John said that he did not do it, and the umpire said he 100 percent categorically saw it. We have to go with the umpire’s ruling."

Said Washington following the match, "I guess 1992 in New Haven was the last time I played John. Has anything changed? I guess he has one of those explosive personalities, you could say. There are a lot of things I can deal with, disputed line calls, stoppage in play. I have an issue when my opponent starts berating people, fans, and umpires. I said something to the official. As players, we are in control of the match. Officials are in charge of the integrity of the game."

McEnroe’s other high-profile default from a match came at the 1990 Australian Open when he was tossed out of a round-of-16 match with Sweden’s Mikael Pernfors due to audible obscenities. Said McEnroe following his default loss to Pernfors in 1990, "I don’t really have anyone to blame but myself. This is like a long story that culminates in me getting defaulted in a big tournament. I mean, I guess it was bound to happen. It’s too bad. I don’t feel good about it, but I can’t say that I’m totally surprised."

Said Venison, "For the vast majority of players this is a non-issue. Historically there have been more issues with John’s matches than the other guys but this was over the top. We tell them (the umpires) to set guidelines early in the match so that the players know their boundaries. If you don’t, things can get ugly quickly."

In other matches on Thursday, Jim Courier defeated Magnus Larsson 6-7 (2), 6-2, 10-6 and Mikael Pernfors defeated Wayne Ferreira 6-3, 6-3.

Mikael Pernfors, Sweden, def. Wayne Ferreira, South Africa, 6-3, 6-3 MaliVai Washington, United States, def. John McEnroe, United States, 3-6, 6-2, default Jim Courier, United States, def. Magnus Larsson, Sweden, 6-7 (2), 6-2, 10-6 (Champions Tie-Break)

Wednesday’s Results - August 13

Magnus Larsson, Sweden, def. Wayne Ferreira, South Africa, 6-2, 6-2 Jim Courier, United States, def. Mikael Pernfors Sweden, 7-6 (1), 6-4 Pat Cash, Australia, def. Karel Novacek, Czech Republic, 6-4, 6-1

STANDINGS

ROUND ROBIN GROUP A

Jim Courier 2-0

Magnus Larsson 1-1

Mikael Pernfors 1-1

Wayne Ferreira 0-2

ROUND ROBIN GROUP B

Pat Cash 1-0

Mal Washington 1-0

Karel Novacek 0-1

John McEnroe 0-1

REMAINING SCHEDULE

Friday, August 15

Beginning at Noon

Magnus Larsson vs. Mikael Pernfors

Followed by

Karel Novacek vs. John McEnroe

Followed by

Pat Cash vs. Mal Washington

Saturday, August 16

Beginning at Noon

Karel Novacek vs. Mal Washington

Followed by

Pat Cash vs. John McEnroe

Followed by

Jim Courier vs. Wayne Ferreira

Sunday, August 17

Beginning at Noon

Third Place Match

Followed by

Championship Match