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Venus Williams withdraws from German Open

AP[ MONDAY, MAY 05, 2003 12:02:35 PM ]

BERLIN: World No. 3 Venus Williams has officially withdrawn from the German Open.

Williams, who was forced to quit during the third set of the J&S Cup final on Sunday with an abdominal strain, was seeded second at the WTA clay-court event.

"The decision not to come to Berlin was very difficult for me, because I have always loved to play in Germany and the fans know and appreciate tennis very much," Williams said. "I will take it easy in the next few weeks and hope to be fit again soon."

Williams, who has won four major titles, was hurt in the first set on Sunday but didn't realise right away how badly.

"I thought it was a stomach ache," she said. "When I have an injury in the middle of a match I just don't believe it's happening to me. When I come back to reality I know I have to re-evaluate the situation and try and get some help."

Amelie Mauresmo of France, who lost all five previous matches against Williams, won the J&S Cup on Sunday in Warsaw, Poland. She was leading the clay-court tournament final 6-7 (6/8) 6-0 3-0 when play was stopped.

The injury could also force Williams out of the French Open, which starts in three weeks. "The injury isn't good," Williams said. "They've told me that an abdominal strain needs more time to heal than a regular strain, so I have to take advice and see how I'm doing."

Williams reached the final at the French Open, the only Grand Slam tournament played on clay, for the first time last year, losing to her sister Serena.

"My plan right now is to take each day at a time, have some rest and hopefully be fully fit again as soon as possible," she said.

Williams was set to make her second appearance at the German Open. She lost in the third round in 2001 to then No 18 Justine Henin-Hardenne of Belgium.

Her withdrawal moves a lucky loser into the main draw and bumps Henin-Hardenne up to the No 2 spot.