Serena Williams withdraws from Internazionali BNL d’Italia Semi-finals – Tennis News
World number six, Serena Williams of USA, has withdrawn from her semi-final match against China’s Li Na at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome, Italy on Saturday.
Just hours before the time of getting on the court for the encounter, Williams announced that she would not be able to participate due to a back injury.
It is good news for Li, as she will go into the title match in more fresh condition than her opponent. The Chinese star will take on the winner of the clash between the world number two, Maria Sharapova and Angelique Kerber of
Germany in the final.
Expressing her views on William’s pull out, Li said, "Of course I'm happy to reach the final but I don't like winning like that. I am so sorry for Serena and hope she gets healthy."
It’s still unknown when Williams suffered this injury, as she did not show any problem during her most recent match a day ago. The American had an easy passage to the last four, as her opponent in the quarter-finals, Flavia Pennetta
of Italy, quit the contest in the middle. The Italian was trailing 0-4 in the first set, when she decided to forfeit the match due to a right wrist injury.
After Pennetta’s withdrawal, William’s comments were quite similar to what Li made today. The American had said, "It's never nice to go through like that but it is nice to have kind of a semi-day off. I've been playing every day
for I don't know how many days so it definitely helps."
The younger sibling of the legendary Williams sisters, Serena was very confident of her victory against Li. She had added, "I feel like I can play on any surface. I've played on ice before and on water. I feel like I can play on
anything."
The 13-time Grand Slam winner is in brilliant form currently, winning 13 straight matches on clay court. Williams won back to back titles at the Mutua Madrid Open and Family Circle Cup in Charleston.
Serena said she will be fit for the French Open and the motive behind withdrawing from this event is that she wants to be 100 percent ready for the upcoming events.
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