Serena Williams pulls out of Acura
By wire services
Published July 31, 2004
CARLSBAD, Calif. - Serena Williams withdrew from the Acura Classic Friday because of swelling in her left knee, the same one she had operated on a year ago that kept her off the WTA Tour for eight months.
Venus Williams withdrew from the $1.3-million tennis tournament Tuesday because of a sprained right wrist, an injury she initially sustained last week before her semifinal against Lindsay Davenport in Carson.
The injury-plagued sisters have been playing more in recent weeks, including entering the same tournaments, in an effort to boost their rankings. Venus has dropped to 10th in the world; Serena is 14th this week.
Davenport, however, just keeps rolling on the hardcourts of her native California.
She defeated Ai Sugiyama 6-1, 6-3 in 56 minutes and Elena Dementieva defeated Amy Frazier 6-2, 6-1 in 62 minutes. Dementieva and Davenport will meet in one of today's semifinals.
In the other quarterfinals, Anastasia Myskina's savvy paid off in a 7-5, 6-2 victory over the erratic Maria Sharapova that ended Sharapova's 14-match winning streak. Myskina faces Vera Zvonareva, who advanced when Williams withdrew.
"I'm only 17," said Sharapova, who appeared near tears. "When I get to her age, I'll be a lot more experienced player and probably physically stronger."
TENNIS MASTERS CANADA: Top-ranked Roger Federer stretched his winning streak to 21 matches by beating Fabrice Santoro 7-5, 6-4 to reach the semifinals in Toronto. Federer, who's won three straight tournaments since losing in the French Open's third round, plays Thomas Johansson. Defending champion Andy Roddick, the No. 2 seed, beat qualifier Jan Hernych 6-4, 6-2 in the quarterfinals of the $2.5-million tournament. Hernych, ranked 109th in the world, beat Gustavo Kuerten to advance to the quarterfinals but was no match for Roddick, who held serve at love to close out the match in just over an hour. Roddick plays Nicolas Kiefer in the semifinals. Kiefer beat Jurgen Melzer 3-6, 6-1, 6-1 in the quarterfinals.
TRACK: Greene bested in 100Olympic champion Maurice Greene lost the 100 meters at the London Grand Prix meet to Jamaican sprinter Asafa Powell, who established himself as a favorite for Athens Games. Powell, unbeaten this season, led most of the race and finished in 9.91 seconds. Greene, the three-time world champion and former world-record holder, finished second in 9.97. Another American, Leonard Scott, was third in 10.04.
WORLD RECORD: Yelena Isinbayeva broke her pole vault world record, clearing 16-3/4 at the London Grand Prix meet at Crystal Palace. Isinbayeva eclipsed the mark of 16-1/2 she set five days ago in Birmingham, England. It's the fourth time in five weeks the record has been broken.
CYCLING: Belgian tests positiveAll but two urine and blood samples taken during the Tour de France were negative for doping products or prohibited substances, the International Cycling Union said. The exceptions were samples belonging to Belgian rider Christophe Brandt, who was expelled from the Tour, the UCI said. More than 350 blood tests were conducted, UCI said. Hendrik Redant, coach of Brandt's Italian team Lotto-Domo, said the rider was sent home July 9 after testing positive for methadone, a drug typically used to help recovering heroin addicts. Brandt suggested a laboratory error might be to blame.
ET CETERABASKETBALL: Wake Forest teammates Justin Gray and Chris Paul combined for 28 points and 16 assists to lead the United States to a 92-79 victory over Puerto Rico in the World Championship for Young Men qualifying tournament in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The U.S. team (3-0) advanced to the semifinals as the top seed in its pool and plays Canada (2-1) tonight with the winner advancing to Sunday's title game.
SOCCER: The MLS All-Stars were going to play Spanish club Real Madrid - featuring superstar David Beckham - but Real pulled out after a disappointing season, so the East vs. West format returns for the game this afternoon in Washington. ROWING: The U.S. men's coxed four team advanced to the final at the world championships in Banyoles, Spain, posting the fastest time in qualifying. The U.S. team beat Slovenia and Australia with a time of 6 minutes, 12.81 seconds.
SWIMMING: Rachael Burke has begun serving a provisional suspension after testing positive for a banned substance, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency said. Burke tested positive for boldione in an out-of-competition test May 1.
FISHING: BassCenter, a weekly Saturday morning show dedicated to bass fishing, will debut Jan. 1. The half-hour show will air at 11 on ESPN2.