WTA: Serena’s US Open in doubt
Originally published on: 20/07/10 09:02
Serena Williams’ US Open is in doubt because of her recent foot injury, say sources at the WTA Tour.
The world No.1 cut the bottom of her foot on broken glass at a restaurant shortly after winning Wimbledon and needed stitches. Last week the tour announced she would need surgery, ruling her out of the entire US Open series ahead of the year’s fourth Grand Slam.
WTA tour spokesman Andrew Walker said Monday that Williams is questionable for the US Open itself, reports the Associated Press.
The American won her first Major title at Flushing Meadows in 1999, and her return this year was hotly anticipated after the tumultuous manner in which her semi-final defeat to eventual champion Kim Clijsters ended last year.
Williams was given a second code violation on match point following a tirade with a line judge who called a second-serve foot fault on the previous point. The point penalty sent Clijsters into the final, while Serena was fined a record $82,500.
On July 8, shortly after injuring her foot but not believing it to be anything serious, Williams played in an exhibition against Kim Clijsters in front of a world-record tennis crowd of 35,681 in Brussels.
Clijsters said she knew before the match that Williams, a last-minute replacement for Justine Henin, was struggling with the injury.
“I saw her before we started but she didn’t go into how it happened,” Clijsters said. “I told her how much I admired her for coming out there. A lot of players in her situation wouldn’t have done it.”
Williams subsequently withdrew from the World Team Tennis season, where she was set to play for the Washington Kastles, and her summer schedule of tournaments in Istanbul, Cincinnati and Montreal – which starts on August 16, just two weeks ahead of the US Open.
She spoke with reporters after appearing at a WTT match the night after the exhibition. When asked how she was able to play against Clijsters, Williams said, “Those Belgian doctors and waffles.”
A knee injury that sidelined the 13-time Grand Slam champion earlier this season has reduced her schedule to just a handful of tournaments in 2010 so far, including the three Grand Slams.
Despite the lack of playing time, Williams defended both her Australian Open and Wimbledon crowns this year, and reached the quarter-finals at Roland Garros. Should she play in New York, it would be just her seventh competitive event of the season.
“You want the best players to be out there, especially at the US Open,” Clijsters added. “It would be sad not to have Serena there.”
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