(Dave Saffran/Sportsday Wire)
If anyone had a shot to stop Serena Williams’s quest for a Grand Slam, it was Maria Sharapova.
Unfortunately, you need to take that off the list. Sharapova withdrew today due to a leg injury.
” I’ve done everything I could to be ready,” she said yesterday at Media Day. “There’s nothing more that I could have done, so yeah, I hope to be ready.”
Too bad because the No. 3 seed was working as hard as she could to play and took time off so she could be ready for Flushing Meadows.
“It’s always just the adjustment of being a professional athlete in a sport that requires many weeks out of the year to compete at a high level,” Sharapova said. “Don’t always know where some things come from but sometimes you have to make adjustments to be healthy and ready for the big ones. I’ve had to make adjustments throughout the year and it only gets tougher as you get older, of course.”
As for Serena, she’s looking forward to watching the quest from afar.
“In many ways it’s a huge bonus for her to be in this position,” Sharapova said. “She’s formed so many great moments and victories in New York, and being back for such a special occasion will make it a great story. I think you could safely say that.
“She’s been playing on an incredible level, and I don’t think it takes anything away from other players. We have to step up. Just like me and everyone else. Her level wants us to be at a better level, as well. When we go out on the court, we want to perform better, and that’s what drives us.”
Of course, there’s no more ‘we’ since Sharapova won’t be out there playing.
That’s too bad.
She’s
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