Associated Press
MELBOURNE, Australia ó Venus Williams had played 251 Grand Slam matches and never once been forced to retire because of injury.
It took all of four minutes for that streak to end.
The seven-time major winner spent more than 48 hours agonizing over whether sheíd be ready for the third round of the Australian Open. She decided to go ahead, hoping enough adrenalin would kick in to allow her to play through the pain.
Williams was ailing after her second-round victory, her ability to move severely restricted. Waiting for her in the third round was 30th-seeded Andrea Petkovic. Williams took the court on a cool Friday night at Rod Laver Arena ějust hoping for some magic.î
The match was over almost before it began. Williams won just one of the seven points she played before she bent over in pain, clutching her right side. She knew she had to stop.
ěIíve never had to retire from a Grand Slam, especially after working so hard to pull out the match the other day. … Itís super disappointing because this is just not how I envisioned my Australian Open being.î
Things are looking far better for defending champion Roger Federer. The second-seeded Swiss beat Xavier Malisse 6-3, 6-3, 6-1, a vast improvement on his five-set second-round win over Gilles Simon.
Top-seeded Rafael Nadal plays 18-year-old Australian wild card Bernard Tomic on Saturday night. The Spaniard is trying to become the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to hold all four major titles at once. Nadal made a quarterfinal exit in Australia last year, then won the French Open, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.
No. 8 Andy Roddick overcame a slow start before powering to victory with 32 aces, stopping Robin Haase 2-6, 7-6 (2), 6-2, 6-2.
No. 6 Tomas Berdych, No. 9 Fernando Verdasco and No. 19 Stanislas Wawrinka advanced. Wawrinka defeated No. 12 Gael Monfils 7-6 (4), 6-2, 6-3 and will meet Roddick in the next round.
No. 3 Novak Djokovic, the 2008 Australian Open champion, was leading Viktor Troicki 6-2 when his Serbian Davis Cup teammate retired because of a stomach muscle strain.
Maria Sharapova, the 2008 Australian Open champion, struggled to a 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 win over Julia Goerges of Germany. Her game picked up only after she asked officials to fix an air bubble on the Hisense Arena court.
With the Williams sisters and Henin out, U.S. Open champion Kim Clijsters is looking more and more like a possible winner. Clijsters, seeded third, plays in the third round Saturday against Alize Cornet of France. No. 2 Vera Zvonareva opens play against Lucie Safarova.