World No. 2 Maria Sharapova is to miss Russia’s Fed Cup semi-final with Germany this weekend in Sochi because of a leg injury, the Russian tennis federation announced on Tuesday.
“I was looking forward to my return to Sochi to play in the Fed Cup,” the federation press service quoted Sharapova as saying.
“It [would have been] my life’s first ever experience to play in the city where I grew up,” she said. “And I’ve changed my personal schedule in order to play for my country in the semi-final.”
The five-time Grand Slam title winner said the injury, which she suffered at the Miami Open, had prevented her from practicing in recent days.
“I need to be in my top form to help my team, to perform at my best in the Fed Cup semi-final against such a strong opponent,” she said. “Unfortunately I was too short of time to recover completely.”
Russian team skipper Anastasia Myskina confirmed that Sharapova had dropped out through injury and named Vera Zvonareva, 137th in the WTA rankings, as a replacement for the 2012 Olympic silver medalist.
“We were in contact with Maria [Sharapova] and her team. I know that she did her best to recover after an injury to play at Sochi, but currently she’s not ready to play,” Myskina said. “Nevertheless, I believe in our team and I’m looking forward to the upcoming semi-final.”
Before the 27-year-old Sharapova’s withdrawal, Russia looked favorites to win the semi-final.
Playing for Russia are 25th-ranked Svetlana Kuznetsova, a two-time Grand Slam winner, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, ranked 38, and Elena Vesnina, ranked 71.
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