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LOS ANGELES: Maria Sharapova’s bid for a second title in as many
weeks ended with a whimper Saturday as the top-seeded Russian
withdrew before her scheduled semifinal in a US$600,000 WTA hard
court tournament.
Sharapova said the pain from a lower left leg
strain came on suddenly on Saturday afternoon, and despite feverish
efforts to combat it—with ice, massage and acupuncture—she
didn’t feel able to play.
“When I started to warm up, it was getting
worse and worse,” said Sharapova, whose exit sent fourth-seeded
Russian Nadia Petrova into a final against third-seeded Serbian Ana
Ivanovich.
Petrova was disappointed to miss out on a chance
to test herself against the world No. 2.
“It’s always good to be in a final, but
it’s good to make your way through,” she said. “I’m really
disappointed. It’s a full stadium. I had a lot of people coming
watch me and support me. I was looking forward to that.”
Ivanovic’s progress to the final couldn’t
have been more different as she had to save two match points en
route to a 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 win over fellow Serbian Jelena Jankovic.
The victory will give Ivanovic a career-high No.
4 world rankings on Monday.
That will still leave her one behind Jankovic,
who climbed from 12th at the start of 2007 to No. 3 in the world,
thanks to four tournament titles this year.
--AFP
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