Petrova replaces Sharapova in Saturday match

Bryce Alderton

Nadia Petrova, ranked eighth in the world in women’s doubles, will

replace Wimbledon singles champion and fellow Russian Maria Sharapova

for the Newport Beach Breakers when the team hosts the Kansas City

Explorers Saturday at the Palisades Tennis Club in Newport Beach,

World Team Tennis officials announced Monday.

Sharapova, who defeated top-seeded Serena Williams in straight

sets to claim her first grand slam title at Wimbledon July 3,

announced Sunday she wouldn’t play the second of two scheduled home

matches due to fatigue.

Sharapova, 17, who became the third-youngest woman to claim a

Wimbledon singles crown and has vaulted to eighth in the world, will

play when the Breakers (4-1) host Sacramento Wednesday.

As of Monday night, fans with tickets to Saturday’s match could

still exchange them for comparable tickets to Wednesday’s match,

though seats are limited.

If tickets are unavailable for Wednesday’s match, fans may keep

their tickets to Saturday’s match and receive complimentary tickets

to the July 20 match featuring U.S. Olympic team and Davis Cup

players Mike and Bob Bryan. The Bryan brothers won their men’s

doubles match in the Breakers’ 20-17 victory over Delaware Saturday.

Ilana Kloss, Chief executive officer of WTT, was disappointed

Sharapova will not be playing Saturday, but said the league is doing

all it can to accommodate as many fans as possible.

“It’s unfortunate and it’s not great, of course, but we have to

respect [Sharapova’s] decision,” said Kloss, who was in Newport Beach

Monday and will attend Wednesday’s match when Sharapova appears. “We

are trying to take care of most people. I think [Sharapova] has made

a huge effort to want to play here [on Wednesday] and that is

important versus saying she wouldn’t be coming at all.”

Sharapova also dropped out of the J.P. Morgan Chase Open, which is

scheduled to begin Monday in Carson.

The mood at Palisades Tennis Club Monday remained upbeat despite

Sunday’s announcement, said Ken Stuart, the club’s owner and general

manager.

“When [Sharapova] won Wimbledon, the sense of everyone was, that

it was great for her, but there goes Team Tennis. Most of the members

didn’t think she would play at all,” Stuart said. “Everybody I talked

to last night and today [about 50 members] were 100% positive and

very appreciative she is playing.”

Sunday’s announcement left WTT organizers scrambling to find a

replacement for Sharapova.

They chose Petrova, who has won eight Women’s Tennis Association

doubles titles in a six-year professional career and will compete on

the Russian Olympic team in Athens, Greece next month, based on

availability, Kloss said.

Efforts were made to land top players such as sisters Venus and

Serena Williams and Lindsay Davenport, a Laguna Beach resident who

played for Newport last season and is currently ranked fifth in the

world in singles.

Venus Williams and Davenport are both playing in this week’s Bank

of the West Classic in Stanford where they are ranked Nos. 1 and 2,

respectively.

Petrova is ranked 12th in singles and reached the semifinals of

the 2003 French Open, which included wins over Monica Seles and

Jennifer Capriati.

Sharapova signed a contract to play two matches before the season,

so she will forfeit pay by missing Saturday’s match.

No further disciplinary action, such as a fine, however, was

given, Kloss said.

“It’s our policy to try to work with the player rather than

getting mad at him or her,” Kloss said. “We have a clause to address

the fact if a player is hurt, injured or exhausted. All of us want

[Sharapova] around for a long time.”

The Breakers travel to face Sacramento at 7:30 p.m. tonight.

Ticket exchanges can be made at the Newport Beach Breakers office

at the Palisades Tennis Club. The office is open from 9 a.m. to 5

p.m.

For more information, contact the Breakers at (949) 916-6682.