JOHN MCENROE - MCENROE ONLY 'TWEAKED' O'NEAL

Former tennis ace JOHN MCENROE has slammed his ex-wife TATUM O'NEAL's accusations he physically abused her, insisting he only "tweaked her nose". The sportsman, 47, and PAPER MOON actress, 42, divorced 1994 after eight years of marriage, with MCEnroe winning custody of the couple's children. In O'Neal's autobiography A PAPER LIFE, the Oscar-winning star claimed he twisted her arm behind her back and tweaked her nose. MCEnroe says, "Well, it's true I tweaked her nose, but I do that to all my kids. It grabs someone's attention, but it hurts. "There are other times when I defended myself so I didn't get hit. "I never hit her. She hit me - but if you hold someone so they don't hit you, that can be regarded as pinning them down. If someone is going to hit you in the face, you're not going to let them to that. I'm not saying I didn't deserve it."