The Belarussian now has 10 days to recover in time for the start of Roland Garros on May 27 as she seeks to back up the Australian Open title she won over Maria Sharapova. Women’s world number one Azarenka was the last on court on Wednesday when she saw off the talented Israeli Shahar Peer with a 6-1, 6-2 victory in the second round.
Her withdrawal handed a walkover victory to her scheduled third-round opponent Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia. The 14th-seeded Cibulkova will play in the last-eight today.
Djokovic powers through
Meanwhile, holder Novak Djokovic staged a 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 comeback over Argentine Juan Monaco to earn a place in the quarter-finals.
With gusts of wind making life a challenge on the red clay, top-seed Djokovic had to smash a racquet into bits to get himself going after losing the opening set to ‘Pico’, the best friend of Rafael Nadal on the ATP tour. The outburst came after the Argentine had finally converted a fifth set point in the blustery conditions.
“It was difficult to play in the wind, but it was the same for both,” said Djokovic. “He was able to deal with the conditions better at the start, but after a set and a half I started to play better and changed my strategy. I never expected an easy match against him on his favourite surface. I felt I started hitting the ball better. I found my rhythm.”
Djokovic finished with 16 winners and 40 unforced errors, a symptom of the windy conditions that have bothered players all week. He now leads Monaco 6-0 in head-to-head matches as the pair played for the first time on the South American’s preferred surface.
Spanish sixth-seed David Ferrer knocked out French 11th seed Gilles Simon 6-0, 7-6 (7/5), while Madrid finallist Tomas Berdych, seeded seventh, reached the last eight as he overcame Spaniard Nicolas Almagro 7-6 (7/3), 6-3.
On the women’s side, Wimbledon winner and fourth-seed Petra Kvitova battled to overcome Romanian Sorona Cirstea 6-2, 5-7, 6-2, while German 12th-seed Angelique Kerber beat German compatriot Julia Goerges 6-4, 6-1. Italy’s Flavia Pennetta continued to thrill home fans, crushing Petra Cetkovska 6-0, 6-1.
Meanwhile, the Williams sisters produced near-simultaneous wins, finishing within minutes of each other as ninth-seed Serena beat Spain’s Anabel Medina Garrigues 6-3, 6-1 and unseeded Venus upset Australian fifth seed Samantha Stosur 6-4, 6-3.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 18th, 2012.
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