Serena needs time, withdraws from Italian Open
Serena Williams has withdrawn from next week’s Italian Open, saying she needs more time to be “100 percent ready to compete.”
The tournament made the announcement. Atherton’s CiCi Bellis takes Williams’ place in the Rome draw.
Williams returned to the tour briefly this year after a 14-month absence to give birth to her daughter.
The 23-time Grand Slam champ also withdrew from this week’s Madrid Open and sitting out Rome puts her status for the French Open, which starts May 27, in doubt.
Williams, a four-time Italian Open champion, has not played since her a firstround loss to Naomi Osaka in March at the Miami Open. DJOKOVIC OUT EARLY >> Novak Djokovic added another early elimination to his disappointing season, while Rafael Nadal continued to look invincible on clay. Djokovic lost to Kyle Edmund 6-3, 2-6, 6-3 in the second round of the Madrid Open, the sixth straight event in which he has failed to reach the quarterfinals.
Nadal later cruised past Gael Monfils 6-3, 6-1, extending his record of consecutive sets won on clay to 48. The 16-time Grand Slam champion, coming off titles in Monte Carlo and Barcelona, has won 37 of his last 38 matches on the surface, including 20 straight.
Djokovic has struggled this year after saying he returned to action too quickly following a lingering right elbow injury.
“There are obvious things that are not working well for me,” the 12-time Grand Slam champ said. “But I have to keep working on them and pray that ... and hope that my game will get stronger.”
Edmund will next play eighth-seeded David Goffin, who defeated Robin Haase 7-5, 6-3.
Nadal improved to 17-1 overall on the season with his win over the 41stranked Monfils.
“I’m happy to start with a victory,” said Nadal, whose last loss on the dirt came against Dominic Thiem in Rome last year. Nadal, who is two sets away from breaking John McEnroe’s 1984 record of 49 straight sets won on a single surface, will next face Diego Schwartzman.
Seventh-seeded John Isner beat fellow American Ryan Harrison 7-6 (1), 7-6 (7).
Maria Sharapova made it to the quarterfinals for the first time since January
with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Kristina Mladenovic. Sharapova will face 20thranked Kiki Bertens, who ended Caroline Wozniacki’s bid to return to the top of the rankings with a 6-2, 6-2 win. The second-ranked Wozniacki needed to win the title in Madrid to overcome Simona Halep for the No. 1 spot. Halep beat Kristyna Pliskova 6-1, 6-4 to stay on track for a third straight title in Madrid.
NFL
INGRAM WEIGHS OPTIONS AFTER SUSPENSION >> Representatives for Mark Ingram say the Saints running back did not test positive
for a performance enhancing drug and is weighing options for challenging his four-game suspension. Paul Bobbitt and David Jones of VIP Sports Management say Ingram was using a substance that is permitted by the NFL with a “proper use exemption.” Ingram’s agents did not specify which substance Ingram used.
49ERS SIGN LINEMAN >> The 49ers signed offensive lineman Mike Person to a oneyear deal. The deal brings back a player originally drafted by San Francisco in 2011. Person was inactive his entire rookie season for the 49ers after being drafted in the seventh round. Person went on to play 43 games over the past six seasons, spending time with Seattle, the Rams, Atlanta, Kansas City and Indianapolis.
Hockey
BOEDKER, MEIER HELP TEAMS WIN >> Mikkel Boedker of the Sharks assisted on Nichlas Hardt’s game-winning power-play goal with 1:59 left in the third period, and host Denmark beat Finland 3-2 in the world championships in Herning, Denmark. Nielsen and Oliver Bjorkstrand scored in the second period for Denmark (1-1-0-2, 5 points). Boedker assisted on all three goals.
• Timo Meier scored and had two assists for Switzerland (2-1-1-0, 9 points), which defeated winless Belarus 5-2.
• Olympic runner-up Germany rebounded from three straight losses to beat newcomer South Korea 6-1.
Soccer
FERGUSON OUT OF INTENSIVE CARE >> Ex-Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson is out of intensive care but remains in the hospital following surgery for a brain hemorrhage. The announcement on Wednesday from United was the first official word on the 76-year-old Ferguson’s condition since he underwent the emergency operation Saturday. There remains no detail on the treatment Ferguson requires.
Cycling
BATTAGLIN WINS FIFTH STAGE >> Enrico Battaglin surged ahead at the perfect moment to win the fifth stage of the Giro d’Italia in Santa Ninfa, Sicily, as Chris Froome and most of the other favorites finished in the main pack. Rohan Dennis held onto the overall leader’s pink jersey with a 1-second lead over defending champion Tom Dumoulin, with four-time Tour de France winner Froome 55 seconds back in 19th place. Giovanni Visconti, a Sicilian looking to impress before his home fans, led coming around the final turn with 200 meters (yards) to go before Battaglin accelerated to take his third career Giro victory.
Figure skating
COACH OF LOCAL SKATERS MOVES BASE >> Coach Tammy Gambill, who works with Bay Area Olympians Karen Chen and Vincent Zhou, will move her training base to the World Arena Ice Hall in Colorado Springs. Colorado. Gambill has coached multiple international medalists, working out of IceTown in Riverside since 1997. She will relocate this summer.