Indisposed Serena withdraws from Bangalore Open

Bangalore, Feb 10 (UNI) The dreams of tennis aficionados and Serena Williams' fans were shattered as the Australian Open Champion withdrew from 175,000 dollar Sony Ericsson WTA Bangalore Open, the main draw of which was scheduled to begin from February 12, owing to health reasons.

The eight-time Grand Slam winner was forced to withdraw from the event due to a flu-induced illness. She was running high temperature and had flu, making it impossible for her to travel and compete this week, according to a release here from the tournament organisers.

Tournament Director and Karnataka State Lawn Tennis Association (KSLTA) Hon. Secretary Sundar Raju said ''naturally, we are disappointed that Serena will not be coming to Bangalore.

Unfortunately, illness and injury are a fact of life in professional sports and we wish Serena a speedy recovery.'' Despite the star attraction of the tournament confirming her absence, fans could expect to see world class tennis throughout the week at the KSLTA Signature-Kingfisher Tennis Centre. As many as 15 of the top 100 players in the world, including India's very own tennis sensation Sania Mirza, Alicia Molik (Australia) and defending champion Mara Santangelo (Italy), would participate in it.

Serena said ''I am very disappointed to have to withdraw from the Sony Ericsson International in Bangalore, which I was really looking forward to participating in. Unfortunately, I caught a bad flu and am too sick to compete.'' Wishing the event all success, the world no.15 player said ''I know with Sony Ericsson's involvement and the incredible tennis fans in India, the event is going to be a great success, and I hope to be able to play in and see the incredible culture of India in the future. I also very much appreciate the honour of being named a State Guest and want to personally thank Chief Minister Kumaraswamy.'' Serena, who proved her calibre to the world by winning the Australian Open as a wild card entrant after being down for a while with a series of injuries, was looking forward to this tournament to improve her world rankings. Her ranking had witnessed a huge jump from 82 to 15 after winning the Grand Slam.

UNI