Injury rules out Williams

 

Originally published on: 26/02/10 12:18

A right knee injury meant the top-seeded American was unable to take to the court, handing Dementieva a place in the final of the Paris tournament.

“She told me she couldn’t play just a few minutes before the match was to start,” said third seed. “I feel really badly for her. It’s never easy getting injured. I hope she gets better as soon as possible.”

She added: “Unfortunately, these things happen sometimes, that’s sports for you.”

The walkover allows Dementieva to contest the Paris final for the first time, and her opponent tomorrow will be Amelie Mauresmo, who shocked second seed Jelena Jankovic in the other semi-final.

The eighth-seeded Frenchwoman, who routed world number 10 Agnieszka Radwanska in the quarters, hit back from an awful second set to claim a 6-2 0-6 6-1 victory over the Serbian.

Mauresmo broke twice in the opening set to give herself the advantage, but her game then collapsed in the second as Jankovic capitalised on several unforced errors to level the match at one set apiece.

The home favourite got her act together in the decider, though, claiming three more breaks while holding off five of six break points from Jankovic to seal the win in one hour and 50 minutes.

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