Former US Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova could soon join her countrywoman Maria Sharapova on the sidelines of the Australian Open.
The fifth seeded Russian pulled out of the Medibank International in Sydney on Wednesday because of an abdominal strain.
“I’ve had this injury before and I played with not such a strong serve and still managed to play,” said Kuznetsova to the media. “But I don’t see the point of doing this, because [the] injury got worse.”
Kuznetsova’s default advanced Japan’s Ai Sugiyama into the semifinals.
As the Australian Open is rapidly approaching, Kuznetsova hopes that a few days of rest will render her fit to compete in Melbourne.
“I’ll do my best to recovery. I will try to be fit for Australian Open,” Kuznetsova said.
‘”The physio is telling me to rest two days and not to do anything. Stretch it a lot and do treatment. Then I’ll start to play little by little. I’ll have a scan on site tomorrow to figure out what I have wrong and see how it can be managed and cure this problem to be better for Melbourne.”
Since launching her career on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, Kuznetsova has never missed the Australian Open—a streak that will hopefully remain intact.
“I have four days, and I’ll have to take it easy and to see how it can be,” Kuznetsova said.
