Tennis
Serena out of Brisbane event
2012-01-04 12:23
Brisbane - Five-time
Australian Open champion Serena Williams was in doubt for the year's
opening Grand Slam Wednesday after she was forced to pull out of the
Brisbane International with an ankle injury.
The 13-time Grand
Slam winner fell heavily and rolled her ankle during a baseline rally
towards the end of her second round win over Serbia's Bojana Jovanovski.
Williams,
who was serving for the match at the time, was able to continue
following treatment and held on to beat Jovanovski 6-2, 6-4.
But
the injury-prone player limped from the court and she was later forced
to withdraw from her quarter-final against Daniela Hantuchova on medical
advice.
"I’m disappointed to have to pull out of the Brisbane International," Williams said in a statement.
"I have been to hospital and it has been confirmed that I have a left ankle sprain that I probably shouldn’t play on.
"I’m
going to take a couple of days off - not too many - and see how I
feel. I’m still hopeful of playing the Australian Open."
The
30-year-old Williams has been plagued by injuries since she won
Wimbledon in 2010, beginning when she cut her foot in a German
restaurant, keeping her out of the game for a year.
She came back
in mid-2011 and had a series of good results before a toe complaint
forced her to withdraw from a tournament in Canada.
She then took the last four months of 2011 off, conceding this week that she was tired at the time and needed a break.
Williams, who normally wears an ankle guard on her left leg, said she thought "not again" as she felt the ankle give way.
"I was like, no way, but as long as I was able to walk it was a little better (than in the past)," she said.
"I
actually took (the ankle guard) off in the second set because it was
painful because I was having another problem with my foot and it was
hurting the other problem.
"I have a brace that I didn't put on today - I wasn't thinking."