Andrea Petkovic out of Hopman Cup and the Australian Open – Tennis News
World number 126, Andrea Petkovic, faced another scary ending to her Hopman Cup campaign after incurring a knee injury that forced her out of the competition against Ashleigh Barty of Australia on Saturday. She was cruising along
with a set victory (6-4) when the pain in her knee forced her to consult the team physio. She was advised to quit immediately because it would only hurt her future prospects.
The 25-year-old German was reduced to tears at the hard courts of Perth because she had already faced a troublesome season in 2012; didn’t play in the most of the competitions whilst the appearances in the rest of them didn’t last
for long as well. She struggled to stay fit and had the same knee problem.
While addressing the media reporters later in the day, Petkovic said, “I had an MRI this morning and they found out it is a rupture of the medium meniscus. They don't know yet if they have to trim it. If they do it will be fine
and I will only be out for a month. I could probably be playing already after two weeks, hitting balls. That would be really great.”
She further added, “If they have to sew it up again it will take two to three months, but nonetheless I'm quite relieved that it wasn't the anterior cruciate ligament as it was a very similar pain and symptoms to 2008 when I had
my ACL torn in Australia.”
A history will be written with the withdrawal of Petkovic. No German player is available to replace her and therefore the 16-year-old Donna Vekic of Croatia will be representing Germany at the Hopman Cup. She will team up with
Tommy Haas. In the past 25 years, no such event has taken place where a player has been told to represent a different country than her native nation.
Petkovic was amongst the Top-10 players in 2011. She was considered to be the biggest threat for the number one player at that time but her constant face-off with niggling injuries has forced her to drop out of Top-100 players.
It is obviously very painful for her.
Moreover, the German announced that she will not be able to participate in the Australian Open as well due to the extent of the injury. It will definitely be a major disappointment for everyone in Germany and for Petkovic as well
who looked pumped up at Perth before falling victim to an injury.
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