Less than a day after saying she was excited to be at the Pilot Pen, Ana Ivanovic
had left the building, withdrawing today citing a bad ankle (the same ankle that forced her to withdraw from her semifinal match against Kim Clijsters last week in Cincinnati). Oh well, No. 3 in the world Nadia Petrova will replace her. Ivanovic was ranked No. 39, so getting Petrova (shown below) is a big step up.
Here’s the official release:
NEW HAVEN — Ana Ivanovic has withdrawn from Pilot Pen Tennis due to an ankle injury. She will be replaced by former World No. 3 Nadia Petrova. Petrova, who will be making her fifth trip to the Pilot Pen, has reached the quarterfinals of the Australian and French Opens this year. She has nine career singles titles and 19 career doubles titles, and reached the semifinals at the French Open in 2003 and 2005. She will rise into the top 20 of the world rankings next week.
“I’m really disappointed to be withdrawing,” said Ivanovic. “I’d been looking forward to playing in New Haven ever since I had my wild card request accepted. I’ve really enjoyed being here the past few days: it’s a beautiful city, and feels very European to me.
“Unfortunately my ankle isn’t going to be ready in time for the tournament. I practiced for the first time on Thursday, but today when I went on court, I felt that it was getting worse and I was feeling a lot of pain. There is just no way I will be ready for the tournament.
“It’s a real shame. I hope to be back here in the future. I’d like to thank the tournament director Anne Worcester and her team for all the generous hospitality they have shown me this week.
“Right now I am quite down, but I believe I will be ready for the US Open. I had a similar injury two years ago in Doha and I recovered within a week. Now I just have to be patient and wait for the pain to go away. I am confident it will be fine for New York.”
“We are disappointed to lose Ana, and wish her all the best for a speedy recovery,” said Tournament Director Anne Worcester. “We are happy that we were able to add a former top 10 star, Nadia Petrova, to our very strong women’s field that features four of the top eight players in the world, and a former World No. 1. It should be another year of fantastic tennis here in New Haven.”
