PARIS -- Top-ranked Ash Barty withdrew from the French Open during her second-round match on Thursday because of an injury.
The 2019 champion trailed 6-1, 2-2 when she returned to her chair and signaled she was not able to continue against Polish rival Magda Linette on Court Philippe Chatrier.
The Australian started the match with her left thigh bandaged and it was immediately clear she could not move properly. Too slow to chase her opponent's shots, she suffered in long rallies and struggled with her first serve.
Barty had called for a medical timeout at the end of the opening set.
Dealing with a left hip problem, Barty had struggled through a 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 win against 70th-ranked American Bernarda Pera in the first round. She said afterward she was not fully healthy and would adopt a one-match-at-a-time approach.
Barty decided not to defend her title last year because of the coronavirus pandemic, choosing instead to remain home in Australia.
In the buildup to this French Open, she played 13 matches on clay, winning 11. But she was forced to retire in the quarterfinals in Rome in May because of an injury to her right arm.
In other early action, last year's runner-up, Sofia Kenin, advanced to the third round with a 7-5, 6-3 win over Hailey Baptiste in a battle of Americans.
Kenin has had a tough start to the season. The 2020 Australian Open champion underwent an emergency appendectomy in Melbourne in February, and her record was 7-8 entering the clay-court Grand Slam.
Fifth-seeded Elina Svitolina also progressed by defeating French Open debutant Ann Li of the United States 6-0, 6-4.
Svitolina played brilliantly in the opening set by combining deep shots from the baseline with clever play at the net and dropping only five points on her service games. She recovered from a blip early in the second set to win the last five games.
Sports - Latest - Google News
June 03, 2021 at 06:14PM
https://ift.tt/3fNzqZ4
Top-ranked Ash Barty withdraws from French Open - ESPN
Sports - Latest - Google News
https://ift.tt/2Mbsnt7
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Top-ranked Ash Barty withdraws from French Open - ESPN"
Post a Comment