Williams forced to bow out with ankle injury

TENNIS: BRISBANE INTERNATIONAL: Former world number one Serena Williams suffered an injury scare less than two weeks ahead of the Australian Open yesterday when the American was forced out of the Brisbane International with a badly twisted ankle.

There was also bad news for home favourite and top seed Samantha Stosur, who was bundled out early for the second successive year, by Czech Iveta Benesova 6-4, 6-2.

Benesova will now meet Australian Open champion Kim Clijsters in the quarter-finals.

Men’s top seed Andy Murray was in danger of joining Stosur when he dropped the first set against Luxembourg’s Gilles Muller before he fought back through a second set tiebreak then blitzed the decider to run out a 4-6, 7-6, 6-0 winner.

The 24-year-old world number four now meets Marcos Baghdatis in the quarter-finals.

Williams twisted her left ankle late in her second-round match against Serbia’s Bojana Jovanovski and needed about 10 minutes of treatment, including restrapping her ankle, before she went on to secure a 6-2, 6-4 victory.

The American had scans later which confirmed she would need to withdraw from the event.

The injury will create doubts as to whether the 30-year-old will be in top form as she attempts to win her sixth Australian Open title at Melbourne Park.

She said: “It has been confirmed I have a left ankle sprain that I probably shouldn’t play on. I’m going to take a couple of days off, not too many, and see how I feel.”

Men’s second seed Gilles Simon dispatched Australia’s James Duckworth 6-3, 7-5 to move on to the quarter-finals. The Frenchman joins Uzbekistan’s Denis Istomin in the last eight after he advanced with a walkover following the withdrawal of Tommy Haas with a calf injury.

QATAR OPEN: Top seed Rafael Nadal cruised into the quarter-finals with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over qualifier Denis Gremelmayr yesterday. The unfancied German had won a solitary game in their only previous meeting and fared little better in windy Doha, Nadal pounding his fellow left-hander from the outset.

World number three Roger Federer defeated Slovenia’s Grega Zemlja 6-2, 6-3 to rack up his 19th successive victory. The Swiss laid down his title credentials for the Australian Open later this month with yet another quickfire victory and has now dropped just nine games in two matches in Doha.

HOPMAN CUP: Caroline Wozniacki continued her preparations for the Australian Open with a hard-fought win at the Hopman Cup yesterday. Wozniacki brushed off a caution during her 7-5, 4-6, 6-2 win over Tsvetana Pironkova but her victory was the only bright spot for Denmark after Bulgaria won the men’s singles and mixed doubles to clinch the Group A tie 2-1.

Grigor Dimitrov defeated Frederik Nielsen 7-6, 6-2 and then partnered Pironkova to a 3-6, 6-4 (10-1) triumph after the third set was decided by a match tie-break.

Wozniacki was serving at 4-2 in the third set when umpire Emmanuel Joseph issued the caution after seeing her father Piotr issue instructions with hand signals from his courtside box.

AUCKLAND CLASSIC: Top seed Sabine Lisicki and third seed Svetlana Kuznetsova overcame rain delays to advance to the quarter-finals of the Auckland Classic yesterday while five seeded players were knocked out.

Lisicki endured a 90-minute delay before she scratched out a 7-6, 3-6, 6-3 victory over fellow German Mona Barthel.

Kuznetsova was forced off for 35 minutes with the score 30-30 while she was leading 5-1 in the second set against US teenager Christina McHale. When the pair returned they warmed up for nine minutes before some stoic defence by McHale, who saved three match points. They played for another four minutes with the twice Grand Slam winner sealing the 6-1, 6-1 victory.

Fourth-seed Flavia Pennetta advanced to the quarter-finals after she beat Britain’s Elena Baltacha 6-4, 6-2.

Second seed Peng Shuai, fifth seed Julia Goerges, sixth seed Roberta Vinci and eighth seed Monica Niculescu all lost, while seventh seed Yanina Wickmayer lost to Italy’s Sara Errani.