Injury Gets the Best of Williams

Venus Williams withdrew due to a leg injury Friday from her quarterfinal match against France’s Mary Pierce in the $450,000 Toshiba Tennis Classic.

Williams, the No. 3 seed, retired after falling behind, 4-0, in the third set with what she said was patella tendinitis in her left knee.

Williams, 18, won the first set 6-2, Pierce the second, 7-6 (7-3).

Williams said she wasn’t worried the injury might keep her out of next month’s U.S. Open.

“I don’t feel that it’s going to be something that’s going to hold me back,” she said. “It’s something that’s temporary right now.”

Williams, ranked fifth in the world, said the knee flared up at 4-4 in the second set.

After holding serve to go up 6-5 in the set, Williams limped to her courtside chair and requested an injury timeout. After receiving treatment from a WTA trainer, Williams returned with a bandage on her left knee.

The injury clearly hampered Williams for the remainder of the match before she retired.

“I thought maybe I could still win the match,” she said. “I found that I was really in a false reality. When I realized that, I quit.”

Fourth-seeded Monica Seles continued to feel the effects of a back injury that has plagued her since last month. Seles, who defeated Ai Sugiyama of Japan 6-4, 6-3 in another quarterfinal match, said her back continues to “spasm after every match.”

Seles cast doubt about whether she would be able to finish the tournament and said she could pull out of next week’s Acura Classic at Los Angeles.

“I don’t know what to expect,” she said.

Pierce, who hurt her wrist late in first set, said she “came close to quitting myself because I was having trouble gripping” her racket.

TODAY’S SEMIFINALS

* Lindsay Davenport (2) vs. Monica Seles (4)

* Martina Hingis (1) vs. Mary Pierce