Sharapova Misses Semifinals With a Strained Calf
ROME (AP) — Maria Sharapova pulled out of Saturday’s semifinals at the Italian Open with a left calf strain.
Sharapova said the injury would not affect her preparations for the French Open, which begins next weekend.
“It’s a strain,” Sharapova said. “They said I need maybe three days off before they test it again.”
She will take over the No. 1 spot in the world rankings on Monday because of Justine Henin’s retirement.
Sharapova is the second top player to withdraw in two days. On Friday, Serena Williams withdrew from the quarterfinals with a back problem.
Sharapova said one of the problems is that players do not want to take any risks so close to a Grand Slam. If she were at the French Open instead of the Italian Open, Sharapova said, she would have tried to play.
“Last year, I basically played without a shoulder, and I got to the semifinals,” she said. “In a Grand Slam, you do whatever it takes, whether that’s taking a few extra painkillers or whatever.”
The second-seeded Sharapova had been scheduled to play Jelena Jankovic, the defending champion.
Sharapova said she first felt the injury in the second set of her 6-7 (3), 7-5, 6-2 quarterfinal victory over Patty Schnyder, a match that ended near midnight Friday.
“Last night, I had two and a half to three hours of treatment and it felt good, but when I woke up this morning it was really sore,” Sharapova said. “I took a little jog and it didn’t go well. It was really uncomfortable.”
In Sunday’s final, Jankovic will meet either sixth-seeded Anna Chakvetadze or the French qualifier Alize Cornet, who were playing later on Saturday.
Sharapova had a flight booked to Paris on Saturday.
“I hope in two days I’ll be able to be on the court and be normal,” she said.
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