Serena drops out; Wozniacki loses

Associated Press

MASON

Serena Williams dropped out of the Western & Southern Open because of a sore toe Wednesday, her latest setback after nearly a year away from the court.

Her decision to rest her troublesome right foot cost the women’s bracket yet another high-profile player and raised doubts about her readiness for the U.S. Open.

“I don’t think this is a good time for me to take a big chance,” she said, after the big toe on her right foot bothered her during a morning workout. “I just don’t think that would be smart.”

She was the latest high-profile woman to drop out of the Cincinnati-area tournament, which combined a women’s event and the men’s Masters for the first time this season.

Sister Venus Williams withdrew before the start because of a virus that also forced her to sit out the tournament in Toronto. Defending champion Kim Clijsters couldn’t play because of an injured abdomen.

The tournament also lost top-ranked Caroline Wozniacki on Wednesday. Wozniacki dropped her opening match for the second consecutive week, falling to American Christina McHale 6-4, 7-5 in the second round.

Third-seeded Victoria Azarenka withdrew before her evening match because of a strained right hand.

In the men’s bracket, top-ranked Novak Djokovic beat American Ryan Harrison 6-2, 6-3.

No. 2 Rafael Nadal beat French qualifier Julien Benneteau 6-4, 7-5 while playing with two fingers on his right hand bandaged to protect burned fingertips. The left-handed Nadal said he got the burns by touching a hot plate at a local restaurant.

Serena Williams’ withdrawal was unexpected. She had won two straight tournaments at Stanford and Toronto, gaining some momentum after missing nearly a year because of medical problems. Williams arrived looking to win three tournaments in a row for the first time since the start of the 2008 season.

She beat Lucie Hradecka in two sets on Tuesday night, when the toe started bothering her. It was her seventh match in eight days and her 12th straight win, equaling the longest such streak on the WTA Tour this year.

The toe was worse when she woke up on Wednesday — sore and a little swollen. She talked to her father and her sister before deciding to withdraw from the tournament. It’s the same foot she cut on glass at a restaurant and had two operations.

“It’s not as bad as it was before,” she said. “It’s just a lot of match play. I’ve been playing a lot of the matches, more than I have in a long time, and also training as well. It got a little aggravated. Instead of making it worse, I’ve decided it will be in my best health not to go on.”