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Updated: 08:24 PM EDT
Williams sisters endure tough day at Acura Classic
CARLSBAD, Calif. (AP) - Top-seeded Serena Williams overcame a foot injury and an unexpected challenge from Jelena Jankovic, but won her second-round match Tuesday at the Acura Classic.
While Serena took more than two hours to beat her unseeded opponent, older sister Venus had even bigger problems and withdrew from her first-round match against Gisela Dulko with a sprained right wrist. Venus sustained the injury last week and was forced to withdraw during the semifinals of the WTA tournament in Carson, Calif.
"The good news is I'm doing better," Venus told the stadium crowd over the P.A. system moments before her scheduled match. "The bad news is I couldn't get better enough to play today."
Serena's foot injury appeared to happen in the fifth game of the third set of her 6-7 (3), 6-3, 6-2 victory. She pulled up lame with her left foot after chasing down a ball.
With Serena holding a 3-2 lead on the changeover in the third set , both players required medical attention from a WTA trainer that lasted 10 minutes. Serena appeared to have the instep of her left foot taped, while the trainer worked on stretching Jankovic's back.
Serena played gingerly on her left foot in the winning the final three games.
Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova was scheduled to play the first of two night matches, her initial action since winning her first Grand Slam title with a surprisingly easy victory over Serena.
Serena, routed by Lindsay Davenport 6-1, 6-3 in Sunday's final at Carson, appeared intent on making quick work of Jankovic, ranked 44th in the world. When Serena took a 4-1 lead, it looked like it wouldn't take her long.
But Jankovic came back, broke Serena's serve three straight times and tied the match. Jankovic began to match ground strokes with Serena, who also started committing numerous unforced errors. Jankovic won the tiebreaker on two consecutive hitting errors by Serena.
Serena came back and won the second set, although it was not as easy as the score indicated. She then took a 3-2 lead in the third set before finishing off the match winning three straight games.
No. 10 Nadia Petrova was the only seeded player to lose, dropping a 6-4, 1-6, 6-4 first-round decision to Elena Likhovtseva.
In other second-round matches involving seeded players, No. 3 Anastasia Myskina beat Barbara Schett 6-3, 6-4, and No. 12 Vera Zvonareva was a 6-0, 6-3 winner over Maria Sanchez Lorenzo.
07/27/04 20:23 EDT
Copyright 2004 The Associated Press.
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