Two-time champion Jennifer Capriati joined defending titlist Serena Williams among the absentees at the Australian Open, while leading contender Kim Clijsters said she's in real danger of missing the season-opening tennis major.
Capriati withdrew from the Grand Slam tournament yesterday because of the back injury she sustained in November at the season-ending WTA Championship. She missed a tournament in Hong Kong last week.
The 27-year-old American, the 2001 and 2002 Australian Open winner, lost in the opening round last year, becoming the first defending champion to lose there in the first round.
Three former women's champions are out of the Australian Open, which starts Monday at Melbourne Park.
Williams withdrew last week after failing to recover in time from knee surgery last August. Mary Pierce, the 1995 champion, pulled out because of fitness concerns.
World No. 2 Clijsters withdrew from the adidas International in Sydney and said she's in doubt for the Australian Open. She was forced out of the Hopman Cup in Perth last week after injuring her left ankle and said the problem became worse after a 20-minute practice session in Sydney, where she is the defending champion.
"It got a little bit worse this morning, flared up a bit -- that's what scared me a little bit," she said. "I decided that I'm not going to be able to go out there tomorrow and give 100 percent."
Clijsters, who was seeded second for the Australian Open, said her appearance next week would depend entirely on her recovery in the next few days.
"I want to have a hit -- I don't want to go out there on Monday or Tuesday knowing that's my first hit in weeks," said Clijsters.
The 20-year-old Belgian said she wouldn't risk her future on one Grand Slam tournament and would pull out of the season's first major if there was any chance of long-term injury.
adidas International
Australian wild card entry Chris Guccione upset top-seeded Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero in a 6-3, 7-6 (6) first-round shocker yesterday at the adidas International.
The 18-year-old Guccione, playing in his third ATP event and ranked No. 447, closed with his 19th ace after Ferrero gave him a fourth match-point with a double fault at 6-6 in the tiebreaker.
Ferrero finished 2003 at No. 3 after winning his first Grand Slam title at the French Open.
He also reached the final in Sydney last year.
Ferrero said the loss wasn't all bad for his preparations for the Australian Open.
Wimbledon finalist Mark Philippoussis, seeded fourth, beat Spanish qualifier Ruben Ramirez-Hidalgo 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 and moved into a second-round match with Greg Rusedski.
Rusedski is entitled to play in Sydney and at the Australian Open starting next week despite facing a doping hearing in Montreal next month.
The Canadian-born British player overshadowed the start of the adidas International when he announced last week that he'd tested positive for nandrolone at Indianapolis last July. He maintains that he's innocent.
Third-seeded Carlos Moya of Spain beat Alex Bogomolov Jr. 7-5, 6-4 and Frenchman Michael Llodra beat Russia's Mikhail Youzhny 6-4, 6-2.
Moorilla International
Fourth-seeded Fabiola Zuluaga of Colombia beat Samantha Stosur of Australia 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 at the Moorilla International women's tennis tournament.
Stosur, a semifinalist last week on the Gold Coast, was never able to regain her rhythm after straining her left hamstring during the match.
RSS