Serena pulls out as injury toll mounts
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SERENA Williams retired during the second set of her Hopman Cup match in Perth yesterday, completing a day of injuries and upsets for the leading players on the women’s tour less than two weeks from the Australian Open.
Williams, who missed the US team’s opening loss to Ukraine on Monday because of inflammation in her left knee, was trailing 5-7, 1-2 against Jarmila Wolfe when she left the court in her first match of the season. Lleyton Hewitt beat Jack Sock 7-5, 6-4 and Australia Gold got a walkover in the doubles to win 3-0.
“I just have some inflammation that’s been going away very slowly,” Williams said. “It’s going away, but just needs a little more time.
“I’ve been training really hard during the offseason. Really pushing myself beyond the limits. I just think a day off or two will make a world of difference.”
Ukraine leads the group with wins over the Americans and Czech Republic.
Other top 10 women joined Williams on the injured list. At the Brisbane International, defending champion Maria Sharapova and top-seeded Simona Halep withdrew because of injuries, without playing a match.
In Shenzhen, world No. 6 Petra Kvitova withdrew from the Shenzhen Open due to illness after losing the first set against China’s Zheng Saisai.
Zheng was leading 6-2 in the first-round match in south China when the second-seeded Kvitova withdrew.
At the ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand, defending champion Venus Williams and 2014 winner Ana Ivanovic were ousted in first-round upsets.
No. 4-ranked Sharapova was scheduled to play fellow Russian Ekaterina Makarova but withdrew hours before the first-round match rather than risk further damage to a sore left forearm.
The five-time major winner said she’d hurt her forearm in practice. Her place in the draw was taken by Margarita Gasparyan, who lost to Makarova.
Halep withdrew a day ahead of her scheduled opening match because of a problem with her left Achilles tendon.
“This injury is very difficult,” Halep said. “I thought I was ready, but I can’t do a full match.”
Halep said she hoped to play at the Sydney International next week. Sharapova is heading directly to Melbourne to prepare for the Australian Open, which starts on January 18.
Sharapova won the Brisbane and Rome titles in 2015 and lost the final of the Australian Open to Serena Williams, who added the French Open and Wimbledon titles and was two match victories from a season grand slam when she lost to Roberta Vinci in the US Open semifinals.
Vinci moved into the Brisbane International quarterfinals with a 6-1, 6-1 victory over 2014 Australian Open finalist Dominika Cibulkova. She’ll meet either 2009 champion Azarenka or Ysaline Bonaventure in the last eight.
Also advancing were No. 6 Carla Suarez Navarro, who beat Sam Stosur 6-1, 6-7 (3), 6-4, and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who held off Alize Cornet 6-2, 1-6, 6-4.
In New Zealand, top-seeded Venus Williams lost 7-6 (4), 3-6, 2-6 to 18-year-old Russian Daria Kasatkina and Ivanovic was beaten 5-7, 4-6 by British qualifier Naomi Broady.
Third-seeded Caroline Wozniacki had a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Danka Kovnic.
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