Serena cancels practice, media duties

Paris - World number one Serena Williams cancelled her pre-French Open final practice session as well as her media conference on Friday after being struck down with flu.

The 33-year-old American is scheduled to face Lucie Safarova in Saturday's final at Roland Garros where she will be chasing a third title in Paris and 20th Grand Slam career crown.

Williams struggled through her three-set semi-final win over Timea Bacsinszky on Thursday, later claiming that she had "never felt so sick".

A Roland Garros spokesperson confirmed that Williams had cancelled plans to practice on Friday.

She would also not appear at a pre-final press conference having also cancelled her media duties following her win over Bacsinszky.