Williams calls off her Grand Slam citing chest muscle injury shortly before 4th round clash against Sharapova
Serena Williams called off her Grand Slam comeback because of a chest muscle injury on Monday, pulling out of the French Open shortly before she was supposed to play Maria Sharapova in the fourth round.
"It's extremely disappointing," Williams said during a news conference at Roland Garros. "But also, I made a promise to myself and to my coach and to my team that if I'm not at least 60 percent or 50 percent, then I probably shouldn't play."
Williams, who has won 23 Grand Slam singles titles, said she can't hit serves because of a problem with her right pectoral muscle. Her voice trembled a bit as she explained that she will get an MRI exam and consult with doctors before figuring out what will happen next for her.
"The fact that I physically can't serve at all is a good indication that maybe I should just go back to the drawing board and stay positive," Williams said, "and try to get better and not get it to a point where it could be a lot worse."
The 36-year-old American was competing at a major tournament for the first time in 16 months - and for the first time since giving birth to her daughter last September.
Sharapova wished Williams a speedy recovery and a rapid return to the tour in a two-sentence statement released by French Open organizers.
"I was looking forward to my match against Serena and am disappointed that she had to withdraw," Sharapova said.
Williams said her chest began hurting in her third-round singles victory over 11th-seeded Julia Goerges on Saturday.
"It was really painful," Williams said, "and I didn't know what it was."
Despite that, Williams played in a doubles loss alongside her older sister, Venus, on Sunday and tried to limit the pain by taping up the muscle. But nothing was effective enough that Williams thought she could continue in Paris.
Her withdrawal allows Sharapova, a two-time French Open champion, to move into the quarterfinals.
Sharapova's coach said the Russian player was waiting courtside when they were informed of Williams' withdrawal.
"It was a shock," Thomas Hogstedt said. "We were ready. We prepared a long time for this match."
Their match had shaped up as the most-anticipated of the women's tournament, even though Williams has won 19 of 21 previous head-to-head encounters, including the past 18 in a row.
Kerber, Halep advance
Two-time Grand Slam champion Angelique Kerber reached the quarterfinals of the French Open for the second time by beating Caroline Garcia 6-2, 6-3.
Garcia saved four match points when serving while trailing 5-1. But Kerber took her next chance when the seventh-seeded Garcia, again serving to stay in the match, hit a forehand wide.
Kerber has never been beyond the quarterfinals at Roland Garros and next faces top-seeded Simona Halep, last year's runner-up.
Garcia's loss means there are no French men or women remaining in the tournament.
Caroline Wozniacki's bid for a second straight Grand Slam title is over.
The second-seeded Dane lost to Daria Kasatkina 7-6 (5), 6-3 Monday in the fourth round of the French Open.
Kasatkina broke for a 5-3 lead and then served out the match, which started Sunday but was suspended by darkness.
"It's something like dream come true to play on this court, it was my dream since childhood," said the 21-year-old Russian, who is seeded 14th. "First time I took a racket in my hand I played like this. It's just the way of my mind."
It was Kasatkina's third straight win over Wozniacki, who won the Australian Open for her first major but has never been beyond the quarterfinals at the French Open.
Kasatkina has reached the quarterfinals for the first time at any major, and she will next play US Open champion Sloane Stephens.
Top-seeded Simona Halep advanced to the French Open quarterfinals for the third time by beating Elise Mertens 6-2, 6-1.
Halep, who lost in last year's final, broke the 16th-seeded Belgian's serve six times on Court Philippe Chatrier.
Serving for the match, Halep dropped her serve for the first time. She broke straight back, winning on her first match point when Mertens double-faulted.
Halep, who also lost in the 2014 final, will next face either two-time Grand Slam champion Angelique Kerber or Caroline Garcia.