Australian Open contenders Maria Sharapova and Simona Halep withdrew from the Brisbane International on Tuesday after suffering injuries less than two weeks before the first grand slam of the year.
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“I hurt my forearm in practice a couple days ago and need to withdraw with the Open starting”, Sharapova commented.
“I am really pleased to walk away with a win, especially being down in that third set and then find that ability to come back and play well and win it when you are down, to turn things around”, Stosur said.
Sharapova sensationally pulled out of the tournament just hours before her opening-round match on Tuesday against Russian compatriot Ekaterina Makarova.
Sharapova’s decision not to risk her Australian Open campaign comes after the latter half of her 2015 season was wrecked by injuries, first to her right leg which forced her to miss the US Open. 2 Halep pulled out from the Brisbane International due to a left leg injury just an hour after world No. 4 Sharapova pulled out after injuring a forearm during practice, BelTA has learned.
Defending champion Maria Sharapova also withdrew from the Brisbane tournament due to a sore left forearm.
US Open runner-up Roberta Vinci started the season with an emphatic 6-1 6-1 victory over Dominika Cibulkova while Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova beat Alize Cornet. “I know it won’t be easy, though, because the first match of the year is always hard mentally as well as physically, and I haven’t played since Singapore”.
Twice Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka breezed past Russian Elena Vesnina 6-2 6-0 in the Brisbane International on Monday to set up a second-round showdown against top seed Simona Halep.
In the men’s draw, seeds David Goffin and Domini Thiem won today to make the second round, where 17-times grand slam champion Roger Federer will begin from against German Tobias Kamke tomorrow.
If Williams can not fulfil her commitments in Perth, it means Garbine Muguruza in Brisbane and Agnieszka Radwanska in Shenzhen will be the only players in the WTA top five in action this week.
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“I think it’s going to be a very good test”, she said.
