TENNIS – Two-time defending champion Serena Williams withdrew from this year’s Mutua Madrid Open with a left thigh injury before the start of her quarterfinals matchup against Petra Kvitova. She might not play the upcoming Internazionale BNL D’Italia in Rome where she is also the defending champion. Cordell Hackshaw
Interviews, results, order of play and draws of the Mutua Madrid Open
Two-time defending champion Serena Williams withdrew from this year’s Mutua Madrid Open with a left thigh injury before the start of her quarterfinals matchup against Petra Kvitova. She might not play the upcoming Internazionale BNL D’Italia in Rome where she is also the defending champion. Williams spoke of the injury stating, “It happened during my first round match. It started to get better, but most importantly right now, I just need some time to rest and recover.”
For the past two years, Williams arrived in Paris for the start of the French Open as the top WTA player on clay. Her recent success on clay, previously her weakest surface, has been a true indicator of her excellent fitness as well as her superior game in recent years. Williams fed off these wonderful clay court runs which since 2012 have seen her winning four major titles including Roland Garros last year, two Olympic gold medals and two WTA Year-Ending Championships. However, this year, her clay court season has been drastically different. She lost in her first match on the surface in Charleston where she was also two-time defending champion and has now withdrawn from Madrid and quite possibly Rome where she is the defending champion. Initially it was stated by tournament officials that Williams has also withdrawn from the Roma tournament but Williams has since clarified that she still plans to play the event. Kvitova expressed her disappointment at not being able to play the match. However, one doubt whether her sentiment were indeed genuine as she has yet to beat Williams in all of their previous five encounters. The Czech moves on to face Simona Halep in the semifinals.
Through her three matches in Madrid, Williams looked every bit the clay court specialist that she has grown to be. However, if she does in fact decide to forfeit in Rome, she would have played only four matches on clay en route to defend her title in Paris. This might not bode well for the American. She has shown in the past that her mastering the conditions at Roland Garros requires a lot of match play on clay as she did when she won there in 2002 and 2013. Albeit, she did come into the 2012 French Open with an excellent record on clay for the year and lost 1st round to Virginie Razzano. Williams’ “sub-par” showing on clay this year has resulted in her losing many of the ranking points she won last year. Although she will remain world’s number one, the gap between her and the rest of the field has narrowed significantly. Hopefully this thigh injury is not indeed serious cause for alarm and that Williams will soon be back on the tour. It might not be the most ideal of preparation for the French Open but Williams cannot be counted out to defend her major title in Paris. She has in the past done major things with or without preparation.
