Williams forced to withdraw
She withdraws shortly before scheduled French Open match against Sharapova.
Citing injury, Serena Williams pulls out of French Open before match with Maria Sharapova.
Serena Williams called off her Grand Slam comeback, pulling out of the French Open because of a chest injury before she was supposed to play Maria Sharapova.
Williams announced her withdrawal at a news conference at Roland Garros on Monday.
Williams’ voice quivered as she said she can’t serve because of a problem with her right pectoral muscle.
She and Sharapova were scheduled to play a fourthround match. Sharapova’s coach says the Russian player was waiting at courtside, ready to go on, when they got the news that Williams was pulling out.
Thomas Hogstedt tells the Associated Press “it was a shock. We were ready. We prepared a long time for this match.”
He says Williams had been “the player to beat” before her sudden withdrawal with injury.
Williams’ coach told the AP that they were holding out hope her match against Sharapova might be postponed because of rain.
Patrick Mouratoglou says Williams’ chest muscle was in pain when they held a hitting session earlier. But they decided not to announce Williams’ withdrawal from the tournament immediately, because the forecast predicted possible showers.
Once it became clear the Williams-Sharapova match was going to go on as scheduled, the 36-year-old pulled out of the tournament.
“We might gain one more day, and you never know how it feels tomorrow. So we had to wait,” Mouratoglou said.
Daria Kasatkina advanced to the quarterfinals for the first time by beating Australian Open champion Caroline Wozniacki 7-6 (5), 6-3. The 21-year-old Russian, whose previous best performance at a major was reaching the fourth round at last year’s U.S. Open, broke for a 5-3 lead and then served out the match that started Sunday but was suspended by darkness. Kasatkina has beaten Wozniacki three times this year. She will next play 10th-seeded American Sloane Stephens.
Two-time Grand Slam champion Angelique Kerber beat Caroline Garcia 6-2, 6-3. Kerber next faces topseeded Simona Halep, last year’s runner-up. Garcia’s loss means there are no French men or women remaining in the tournament. Halep advanced for the third time by beating Elise Mertens 6-2, 6-1.
Defending champion Rafael Nadal extended his bid for a record-extending 11th title by beating unseeded Maximilian Marterer 6-3, 6-2, 7-6 (4). He has yet to drop a set at this year’s tournament. Nadal will next play Diego Schwartzman, who rallied to beat Kevin Anderson 1-6, 2-6, 7-5, 7-6 (0), 6-2.
Juan Martin del Potro tamed big server John Isner 6-4, 6-4, 6-4. Isner served 12 aces but fell short of becoming the first American man to reach the quarterfinals since Andre Agassi in 2003. Marin Cilic completed the lineup of quarterfinalists after beating Fabio Fognini of Italy 6-4, 6-1, 3-6, 6-7 (4), 6-3.