Kvitova, Halep and Djokovic withdraw with injuries

Originally published on 19/06/14

Top seed Halep retired with an upper back injury during her second round match against Annika Beck on Wednesday afternoon while Kvitova withdrew from her quarter-final with Heather Watson at the Aegon International due to a hamstring problem.

"I hope that I am going to be ready for Wimbledon,” said world No.6 Kvitova. “I played quite a solid match on Wednesday but today was much worse. I hope that it's not as serious as I'm feeling it and that a few days off will help. I don't think it's a strain or something very serious, it's really painful, so I really couldn't move but I hope it's going to be good.”

The Czech has reached the quarter-finals at Wimbledon for the past two years after winning the tournament in 2011. She says she would not consider herself a doubt for SW19 but plans to rest for a few days to ensure she is fully fit for the third Grand Slam of the year.

“Wimbledon is starting on Monday and I need to be ready for it,” she commented. “The plan now is to have two days off and try to play Saturday afternoon very easily, so I will see. It's not very often I pull out from a tournament, so it's very strange and I’m sad that I couldn't play. People came to watch the match against Heather and it's really sad news for them and for me as well, but that's how it is and how important it is now.”

Watson, who is coming off the back of her first top-20 win against Flavia Pennetta, will now face Madison Keys for a place in the final after she beat Lauren Davis 6-2 6-1. The other semi-final will see Caroline Wozniacki take on Angelique Kerber after they beat Camila Giorgi and Ekaterina Makarova respectively.

Meanwhile, Halep also saw her grass court preparations cut short as she retired from her match against Beck at the Topshelf Open. The world No.3 rallied from 4-1 down in the first set to lead 7-5 2-3 but opted to retire as a precaution.

“The injury isn't very dangerous, but I was cold on the court and the muscle at my shoulder and rib was contracted,” she said. “The physio told me I should stop playing, because it could have gotten worse. But I will be fine for Wimbledon."

Carla Suarez Navarro and Vania King also retired from their matches due to back injuries while world No.2 Novak Djokovic withdrew from The Boodles exhibition event at Stoke Park due to a niggly wrist injury. The Serb said it was a difficult decision but a precaution ahead of Wimbledon.

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