Nicolas Almagro withdraws from Australian Open

World number 13 Nicolas Almagro has withdrawn from the upcoming Australian Open due to a shoulder injury.

The 28-year-old Spaniard was recently forced to pull out of the Sydney International with the same problem.

"I can tell you that I will not be able to go to Australia," Sky Sports News quotes Almagro as saying. "Now I need to continue recuperating and look to the future with optimism."

Almagro reached the quarter-finals of last year's tournament in Melbourne before losing to his fellow countryman David Ferrer.

The Australian Open gets underway on January 13.