Top-ranked Serena Williams retired during the second set of her Hopman Cup match in Perth yesterday, culminating a day of injuries and upsets for the leading players on the women’s tour less than two week 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 7-5, 2-1 against Jarmila Wolfe when she left the court.
Australia had a 1-0 lead ahead of the men’s singles in a Group A match at the international mixed team tournament. Ukraine improved to 2-0 in the group with a win over Czech Republic.
Photo: AFP
Earlier, defending champion Maria Sharapova and top-seeded Simona Halep withdrew from the Brisbane International with injuries within an hour of each other, without playing a match.
World No. 4 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 ahead of the first Grand Slam tournament of the season.
The five-time major winner said she had hurt her forearm in practice and had to withdraw as a precaution. Her place in the draw was taken by Margarita Gasparyan, who lost to Makarova.
Halep had a first-round bye and withdrew a day ahead of her scheduled opening match against Victoria Azarenka because of a problem with her left Achilles tendon.
“I wanted to play here. 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 Jan. 18.
Sharapova won the Brisbane and Rome titles last year and lost the final of the Australian Open to Serena Williams, who added the French Open and Wimbledon titles and was two victories from a season Grand Slam when she lost to Roberta Vinci in the US Open semi-finals.
Vinci moved into the Brisbane International quarter-finals with a 6-1, 6-1 victory over 2014 Australian Open finalist Dominika Cibulkova yesterday.
She faces either 2009 champion Azarenka or Ysaline Bonaventure in the last eight.
Also advancing were sixth seed Carla Suarez Navarro, who beat Sam Stosur 6-1, 6-7 (3/7), 6-4, and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who held off Alize Cornet 6-2, 1-6, 6-4.
Among the men progressing in Brisbane were No. 6 David Goffin, who beat Thomaz Bellucci 6-4, 6-4, and No. 8 Dominic Thiem, who held off local James Duckworth 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.
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