Serena sweating on Wimbledon fitness
PARIS — Serena Williams admits her dream of an eighth Wimbledon title could either be saved or shattered in a Paris doctor’s office this week.
The 36-year-old American stunned the French Open on Monday by withdrawing from her eagerly anticipated last-16 grudge match against bitter rival Maria Sharapova just minutes before the two icons were due to clash on Court Philippe Chatrier.
A pectoral muscle injury had slammed the brakes on Williams’ serving arm so she decided not to take up the opportunity to extend her 14-year, 18-match win streak over the Russian.
“So I’m going to get an MRI tomorrow (Tuesday). I’m going to stay here and see some of the doctors, see as many specialists as I can,” said the 23-time Grand Slam champion.
“And I won’t know about Wimbledon until I get those results.”
In Paris, Williams was playing her first Grand Slam since winning the 2017 Australian Open when she was two months pregnant and first since she gave birth to daughter Olympia in September.
However, in the end, her Paris schedule caught up with her.
She had played six matches in six days, with her singles duties alternating with doubles alongside sister Venus.
That compared to just four matches — in Indian Wells and Miami this year — since her 2017 Australian Open win.
“I have made every sacrifice that I could, so it’s extremely disappointing,” she added.
“But also, I made a promise to myself and to my coach and to my team that if I’m not at least 50 percent 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 to a point where it could be a lot worse.”
Maria message
With Wimbledon not starting until July 2, Williams has roughly three weeks to get healthy.
A rematch with Sharapova at the All England Club could have even greater significance as it was there in 2004 that the Russian, then a 17-year-old, stunned Williams to lift the crown.
It also lit the fuse on a relationship that has generally been close to explosive ever since.
Monday’s scheduled match was due to take place just two days after Williams had blasted Sharapova’s autobiography for being “100 percent hearsay” when it came to references about the aftermath of that 2004 Wimbledon final.
“I think Serena hated me for being the skinny kid who beat her, against all odds, at Wimbledon,” Sharapova wrote in Unstoppable.
“Not long after I heard Serena told a friend, who then told me, ‘I’ll never lose to that little bitch again’.”
Sharapova, the champion in Paris in 2012 and 2014, goes on to play a first quarterfinal at the Slams since losing to Williams at the same stage at the 2016 Australian Open.
It was in Melbourne that Sharapova tested positive for meldonium after which she served a 15-month doping ban.
That penalty was reduced on appeal after her initial suspension of 24 months.
“I was looking forward to my match against Serena and I am disappointed that she had to withdraw,” said Sharapova in a statement.
“I wish her a speedy recovery and hope she returns to the tour soon.”
It was not the greatest day for women’s tennis on Monday. As well as Serena’s withdrawal, the match featuring third seed Garbine Muguruza, the 2016 champion, and Lesia Tsurenko lasted just two games.
World No 39 Tsurenko of Ukraine retired at 0-2 due to a leg injury that required an on-court medical assessment as well as lengthy off-court treatment — right after the first game.
World No 1 Simona Halep needed just 59 minutes to beat Belgium’s Elise Mertens for the loss of only three games.
Fourth-round losers in the men’s and women’s tournaments all receive $260,000, a fact not lost on Italy’s Fabio Fognini whose five-set loss to Marin Cilic took three hours and 37 minutes.
Women’s tennis “is another sport”, he said mischievously.
I made a promise to myself and my team that if I’m not at least 50 percent I probably shouldn’t play.” Serena Williams,