Tennis

Venus Williams pulls out of China Open

(China Daily)
Updated: 2010-10-02 08:36

Beijing - Women's world No 3 Venus Williams has withdrawn from the China Open, but a star-studded field will still be on display after the draw for the WTA event was released on Friday.

Related readings:  Major winner heads China field  Clijsters withdraws from China Open  Zheng Jie to skip China Open for surgery

Russian ace Maria Sharapova, who was upset in the opening round of the Pan Pacific Open, is definitely a player to watch.

Sharapova faces a tough opening match against Wimbledon semifinalist and Bulgarian world No 32 Tsvetana Pironkova. If the Russian can get over that first hurdle, she could face Agnes Szavay. Victoria Azarenka, who troubled the Russian, looms as a possible quarterfinal opponent.

After suffering a shoulder injury in 2008, three-time Grand Slam winner Sharapova spent several months on the sidelines and dropped down to 126 in the rankings. Caroline Wozniacki, who has a first-round bye, could take the No 1 spot after the Open depending on her results. The Dane could possibly meet local player Peng Shuai, if the Chinese player defeats Italian Flavia Pennetta in her opening match.

China's top ranked player, Li Na, will face Alisa Kleybanova, who claimed the WTA Malaysia Open and Korea Open this year.

Second seeded Vera Zvonareva also has a tough draw as she will meet former world No 1 and Russian compatriot Dinara Safina, who is ranked 49 and is in the main draw as a wild card.

Meanwhile, defending champion Svetlana Kuznetsova, No 4 seed Jelena Jankovic and Australian Samantha Stosur are not likely to face any major hurdles until the quarterfinal stage.

On the men's side, former world No 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain has been forced to pull out of the Open due to a knee injury.

Ferrero has not played since being ousted in the third round of the US Open in September. He stayed in Spain and was scheduled to compete in the Oct 2-10 hard court tournament in Beijing, but failed to recover in time.

The 30-year-old Spaniard had a good start to the season by winning three single titles on clay court. The long-term knee injury, however, has affected his performance and made him miss several tennis events. His world ranking has dropped to 26.

The sport's dominant Rafael Nadal of Spain and Roger Federer of Switzerland will not play the China Open as they are scheduled to play in the Shanghai Masters in mid-October.

Current world No 2 Novak Djokovic is the top-ranked player here. The 23-year-old Serb will face a tough challenge from second-seeded Andy Murray of Britain.

Six of the world top 10 men will compete at the China Open, including French Open runner-up Robin Soderling of Sweden, Wimbledon finalist Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic and Russian veteran Nikolay Davydenko.