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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - Serena Williams retired from her semifinal match against Jelena Jankovic at the Dubai Women’s Open on Friday with a strained tendon in her right shoulder.
The unseeded Jankovic was leading 6-0, 4-3, when Williams pulled out 59 minutes into the match. That put Jankovic into the final against top-seeded Lindsay Davenport, who struggled through an upset stomach to beat Patty Schnyder 4-6, 7-5, 6-1.
Williams blamed the balls being used in the tournament for her injury.
“Ever since I have been practicing here, I am getting the same symptoms with my ribs and my arms hurting in a really bad way,” Williams said. “It was hurting really bad. One more point and I think I was going to die.
“All the players had a debate of these balls and I am not the only one talking about it. We all decided not to use these balls in the championships and in the tournaments leading up to the championships. It’s only here and there that these balls are being used.”
Williams was so frustrated during the match that she smashed her racket three times after losing her serve in the opening game of the second set, receiving a racket abuse warning.
Jankovic was disappointed that Williams conceded.
“I knew there was something wrong because she wasn’t serving like she normally does,” Jankovic said. “She is one of the best servers in women’s tennis. I am really disappointed that we couldn’t play a real match.”
Davenport was one game from losing, as Schnyder led 6-4, 5-4. But the American surged to win nine of the last 10 games and reach her third final of 2005.
“Patty obviously is a good player and I have lost to her before,” Davenport said. “I was just able to eke out the second set and then in the third set I played a lot better. She started to err a lot more on her first serve.”
Speaking about her stomach problem, Davenport said: “I had the feeling that I was going to get sick. So I was just trying to keep the points short for a few games. Then the trainer came out and gave me some anti-nausea medicine.”
In the second set, Davenport broke Schnyder in the third game. Leading 3-1, Davenport suffered with her upset stomach, allowing Schnyder to break back and tie the set at 3.
Davenport had a couple of break points in the seventh game but Schnyder survived. However, Schnyder lost her serve in the 11th game and Davenport served out the set.
In the third set, Davenport had three breaks, finishing with a forehand cross at match point.
The United States completed a 5-0 rout of Switzerland in the Davis Cup on Sunday, with 19-year-old Ryan Harrison and John Isner winning closing singles matches.
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Jeremy Lin hit a free throw with 4.9 seconds left to overcome a dreadful second half and lift the New York Knicks to their fifth straight victory, 100-98, over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday night.
Wesseling: Each NFL team enters the offseason with a series of pressing needs. Sometimes a team can address them all, sometimes they ignore them all. But if a team's smart, they'll listen to us. These are the most crucial aspects for AFC teams.
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