Sharapova withdraws in Dubai
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (Ticker)—Australian Open champion Maria Sharapova was forced to withdraw on Tuesday from the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships due to a viral illness.
Sharapova claimed her second WTA title of the season on Sunday at the Qatar Open in Doha despite suffering from a bad cold throughout the week.
However, when her condition didn’t improve on Tuesday morning, the 20-year-old Russian decided to withdraw.
“I flew to Dubai right after my final and woke up (Tuesday) morning feeling really fatigued and stuffed up with a cough,” the fifth-seeded Sharapova said. “After trying to (practice) a little bit (Monday) evening, I came to the conclusion that I’m not going to be ready to play five matches in the next five days.”
Sharapova was set to take on unseeded Agnes Szavay of Hungary during the opening round on Tuesday but will be replaced by Japan’s Akiko Morigami, the world No. 50.
