Paris: Owing to an injury, American tennis ace Serena Williams was forced to withdraw ahead of a fourth-round French Open match against Maria Sharapova.
According to Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), the injury helped Sharapova bolt into the quarterfinals stage.
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“I’ve unfortunately been having issues with my pec muscle and unfortunately it’s been getting worse,” WTA quoted Williams as saying.
The round of 16-match between the Tennis greats was set to be the fourth match on Court Philippe Chatrier on Monday (local time).
“Right now, I can’t actually serve so it’s actually hard to play when I can’t physically serve,” Williams said.
“It didn’t start before I got here. The first time I felt it was against Goerges in my last match. That’s when I started to feel it. It was really painful and I didn’t know what it was,” added Williams.
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It was her first appearance at this French Open after the birth of her daughter in September.
“I made a promise to myself and to my coach and to my team that if I’m not at least 60% or 50%, then I probably shouldn’t play. The fact that I physically can’t serve at all is a good indication that maybe I should just go back to the drawing board and stay positive and try to get better and not get it to a point where it could be a lot worse.”
She will stay in Paris to undergo an MRI for her injury.
(With ANI inputs)