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"I am heartbroken I'm not able to continue in the tournament" – Serena Williams

Published

10 years ago

July 1, 2014

An unwell Serena Williams was forced to pull out of her Wimbledon women’s doubles second-round match with sister Venus because of a viral illness.
The 32-year-old, beaten in the singles by Alize Cornet, and Venus were 3-0 down to German Kristina Barrois and Swiss Stefanie Voegele early on.
But Serena struggled in the warm-up and needed treatment from the doctor.
She then served four consecutive double faults as the sisters lost the third game of the match, prompting the end.
Serena, who seemed to be having problems with her vision, was struggling to bounce the ball and keep it under control.
Williams was struggling from even before the start of the match
At that point the sisters, five-time champions in the doubles event, decided to abandon the match, sending their opponents into the third round.
“I am heartbroken I’m not able to continue in the tournament,” said Serena later. “I thought I could rally this morning, because I really wanted to compete, but this bug just got the best of me.
“I want to thank my sister, [opponents] Kristina [Barrois], Stefanie [Voegele] and our teams for their support. We were all looking forward to a great match. From the bottom of my heart, I thank all of the fans for their cheers and understanding. I look forward to returning to Wimbledon next year.”
Venus, who was beaten by Petra Kvitova in the third round of the singles, added: “Unfortunately Serena has been feeling unwell for the past few days and she just couldn’t play to her potential today.
“I’m really proud of her for trying because we just love playing doubles together. We are looking forward to coming back to Wimbledon next year.”