Andrea Andrea Petkovic has pulled out of the Australian Open due to a back injury.

Petkovic was beaten by Agnieszka Radwanska in the Sydney International on Tuesday and needed to receive treatment from the trainer during that match. The 24-year-old made the last eight in last year’s Australian Open and follows former finalist Venus Williams in pulling out of this year’s tournament. The German, who was due to be 10th seed for the draw, said: “I’ve been struggling with it, but I’ve always believed it was going to be fine and so I pushed through the pain. “The last two weeks in Australia I’ve been having bigger problems; I could only play for 30-45 minutes without pain. After yesterday’s match against Agnieszka (Sydney) I decided to have an MRI and a CT and the results showed a stress fracture in my lower back. “The only thing I can do right now is rest – not walking or sitting a lot – just lying down and hoping that the bone will heal as fast as possible. “The doctors have said it will likely take me six to eight weeks to recover. I’m positive this is going to be fine, I just need to take the time off to get better. With this type of injury I’d rather take an additional week off, than start back a day early, and I need to be patient. “I’m really disappointed because I love Australia. It’s funny, I actually tore my ACL here, but on the other hand I also made my first ever Grand Slam quarter-final here (2011). “So either it’s a big high or a big low! I am so sorry that I won’t be seeing my fans in Melbourne, because I love the Australians and feel like we have a great connection.

“I’m going to head back to Germany tonight because I want to have some more tests with my doctors and be close to my family. I’m already looking forward to coming back to Australia next year.”

Andrea Petkovic is tipping Serena Williams to quickly bounce back to her best ahead of next month’s Australian Open.

After a three month absence, Williams will make her return to the WTA tour next week at the Brisbane International where she’ll be seeded fourth behind Sam Stosur, Petkovic and Italy’s Francesca Schiavone.

Despite having US Open champion Stosur keen to kick off 2012 with a title at her home tournament and defending Australian Open champion Kim Clijsters looking to continue an unbeaten run in Brisbane, Petkovic believes Williams is the woman to beat. The American sits outside the top 10 at No.12 in the world rankings due to an injury interrupted year which finished abruptly after Stosur upset her in a dramatic US Open final in September. But the 10th-ranked Petkovic, who idolised Williams as a child, fully expects the 13-times grand slam winner to continue her knack of returning from a lengthy break in great form.

“I haven’t seen her now for the last three or four months because she’s been injured, but she is always a weapon,” the 24-year-old Petkovic said in Brisbane on Wednesday. “She always comes back and seems not to have been gone at all and it’s always very amazing and incredible. “I’m a very big, big Serena fan. She was my first idol when I was growing up after Steffi (Graf). “She’s a weapon in the field but also Kim – obviously she’s one of the greatest female athletes in the world and she can beat anybody. “And always Sam, as the home favourite, I think it’s going to be very exciting.”

Kim Clijsters is forced to retire due to injury during her opening match at the Rogers Cup in Toronto.

Less than three weeks before she is due to begin the defence of her US Open title in New York, and after two months out with a foot injury which caused her to miss Wimbledon, the 28-year-old Belgian pulled out of her clash with China’s Jie Zheng soon after winning the opening set. Clijsters, seeded second, took the set 6-3 and was 2-1 behind in the next when she withdrew due to a left abdominal injury. Having been handed a first-round bye, it was Clijsters’ opening match in the tournament, and she now faces a race to be fit in time for Flushing Meadows.

Former US Open champion Serena Williams looks increasingly prepared to mount a serious challenge for another grand slam, and began her Rogers Cup campaign with a 6-0 6-3 success over Ukraine’s Alona Bondarenko in the first round. The American triumphed at the recent Bank of the West Classic, her last tournament, and is looking to stretch her winning run. She is ranked 80th in the world, after playing little tennis in the past year due to injuries, but could be the player to beat this week.

Among the seeds, Germany’s 11th seed Andrea Petkovic crushed Canadian 17-year-old Eugenie Bouchard 6-2 6-2 in the first round, and Polish 13th seed Agnieszka Radwanska beat Elena Vesnina of Russia 6-4 6-1, but Slovakian 16th seed Dominika Cibulkova went out. Cibulkova was taking on Czech player Iveta Benesova and dropped the first set 7-5 before taking the next 6-4. She led 3-1 in the decider but suffered an injury similar to the one Clijsters would later be affected by, and withdrew. Australian Jelena Dokic was another player to retire injured, when trailing Serbian Bojana Jovanovski 2-0 in their opening set.

Other winners included Slovakian Daniela Hantuchova, who beat Gisela Dulko of Argentina in straight sets, and Serbia’s Ana Ivanovic, who hammered China’s Shuai Zhang 6-1 6-1. Italians Flavia Pennetta and Roberta Vinci also went through to the second round, along with Canadians Stephanie Dubois and Aleksandra Wozniak, China’s Shuai Peng, Spain’s Anabel Medina Garrigues and Croatian Petra Martic.

Top seeds advance to the Carlsbad semifinals.

Four of the top five seeds will contest the semi-finals at the Mercury Insurance Open in Carlsbad. Three of the four quarter-finals went to the form guide to set up some intriguing semi-finals.

Top seed Vera Zvonareva overcame Sabine Lisicki, seeded 12th, 6-3 3-6 6-4 to set up a final four meeting with fifth seed Ana Ivanovic, the only player to eliminate a higher seed today as she knocked out number four Shuai Peng 6-4 6-2.

The other semi-final will see second seed Andrea Petkovic face number three Agnieszka Radwanska. Petkovic beat wildcard Sloane Stephens 6-2 6-1 while Radwanska recovered from a woeful opening set to beat number eight Daniela Hantuchova 0-6 6-4 6-4.

Jelena Jankovic suffered a first-round loss after a 5-7 6-4 6-3 defeat by Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez.

The 15th seed secured the first set but lost her grip on the match in the second as her Spainish opponent responded to force a decider. And the Serb lost her serve at a crucial time as Martinez Sanchez secured her second-round place. Jankovic’s first-round exit was her first in a Grand Slam since the French Open in 2005.

Eighth seed Petra Kvitova, 11th seed Andrea Petkovic and 14th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova also progressed. Czech Kvitova was in excellent form after a swift 6-2 6-2 win over American Alexa Glatch, while German Petkovic beat France’s Stephanie Foretz Gacon 6-3 6-4.

Russian Pavlyuchenkova also enjoyed a straight-sets 6-4 7-6 win over Lesia Tsurenko from Ukraine.

Venus Williams stepped up her Wimbledon preparations by beating Andrea Petkovic 7-5 5-7 6-3 at the Aegon International at Eastbourne.

The five-time Wimbledon champion has slipped to number 32 in the world after a run of injuries but looked in strong form to move past eighth seed Petkovic. Williams, 31 this week, grew in stature as the match wore on but did hit three double faults on her way to victory. She will now face either Ana Ivanovic or Julia Goerges in the second round. Petkovic was Venus’s opponent when she retired with a hip injury from January’s Australian Open and showed her class by winning a close second set. “I was falling down every other point, coming back from such a long layoff, competing against someone who’s been playing so well in the last 12 months.

“I was extremely excited to come back with the win. More than anything I was just really extremely excited to have the opportunity to play another match.”

 

Andrea Petkovic awarded Fed Cup Heart award.

The ITF today announced that Andrea Petkovic has won the latest Fed Cup by BNP Paribas Heart Award, following her contribution during Germany’s 5-0 win over USA in the World Group play-offs in April.

Petkovic, who has been the inspiration behind a Fed Cup renaissance for Germany in 2011, won both her rubbers against the Americans in Stuttgart, defeating Christina McHale and Melanie Oudin, to help the team seal promotion back to the World Group after a one year absence.

Petkovic was shortlisted by the Heart Award judging panel alongside Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez (ESP), Olga Savchuk (UKR) and Polona Hercog (SLO). The final decision was decided by a public vote on the Fed Cup website, which saw thousands of fans have their say. The world No. 12 receives a cheque for $3,000 to be donated to her chosen charity.

A total of six Heart Awards are being presented in 2011. Petkovic follows in the footsteps of Bojana Jovanovski (SRB), Bianca Botto (PER), Ayumi Morita (JPN) and Victoria Azarenka (BLR), who were honoured after the ties in February, while a further player will be recognised at this year’s Final.

ITF President Francesco Ricci Bitti said: “I’d like to take this opportunity to congratulate Andrea for her outstanding performance in April. She has played a key role in her team’s success this season and Germany is now in an excellent position to challenge for glory in 2012. The level of passion and excitement for Fed Cup by BNP Paribas has grown considerably during the last year, and this is embodied in the commitment of players such as Andrea.”

 

Andrea Petkovic moves up up #12 with a win in Strasbourg.

Andrea Petkovic won her second career WTA title and booked a new career-high ranking on the eve of the French Open, beating French No.1 Marion Bartoli via retirement in the final of the Internationaux de Strasbourg. For the first time in nine years the Top 2 seeds made it to the final of the International-level tournament, and No.1 seed Bartoli did it in lightning-fast fashion, losing just 11 games in three matches; Petkovic, the No.2 seed, had straight set wins in her first three matches but needed almost three hours to get past No.6 seed Daniela Hantuchova in the semifinals, 6-4 in the third. With a smoother path to the final, Bartoli looked fresher at the start of the title match, winning the first two games to lead 2-0. But the momentum began shifting and soon Petkovic won the first set and the first game of the second set; up 64 10, the German won the title when Bartoli retired with a left thigh injury.

Caroline Wozniacki warmed up for the French Open in style by winning the inaugural Brussels Open with a three-set win over Peng Shuai. After losing the first set 2-6, the Dane hit back to win the next two 6-3 6-3 and pick up a fourth title of the year. It was her first clay-court title, though, giving her the perfect preparation for Roland Garros. “It’s my fourth title of the season. I was pleased with the way I played and fought,” Wozniacki said. “Now I’m looking forward to Roland Garros – I think I play on Monday, but I’ll be ready.”

 

 

3 German women make it into the Stuttgart quarters….make that 4, as Goerges goes thru after Azarenka retires!

Caroline Wozniacki advanced past the Porsche Grand Prix second round for the first time when she beat Zuzana Kucova of Slovakia 6-1, 6-2 to reach the quarterfinals Wednesday. In her bid for a fourth title this year, Wozniacki will face Andrea Petkovic of Germany, who rallied to defeat former top-ranked player Jelena Jankovic 3-6, 6-1, 6-3. Petkovic, rapidly becoming a star in Germany, beat both Wozniacki and Jankovic in reaching the semifinals in Miami and broke into the top 20 for the first time.

Vera Zvonareva rallied to beat Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 in an all-Russian match. The second-seeded Zvonareva remains on course to add to her Doha title this year after struggling past Pavlyuchenkova on the indoor clay court at Porsche Arena. Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland beat French Open champion Francesca Schiavone 6-1, 6-3, Sabine Lisicki downed Australian Open runner-up Li Na 6-4, 7-5, and Kristina Barrois defeated eighth-seeded Marion Bartoli 6-4, 6-2.

The last German to reach the final eight in Stuttgart was Anke Huber 10 years ago. The host nation now already has three players in the quarters.

 

USA is eliminated from the Fed Cup World Group for the first time since 1995!

Andrea Petkovic’s defeat of America’s Melanie Oudin has ensured Germany will regain its place in the World Group for 2012. This result means USA has dropped out of the World Group for the first time since its formation in 1995.

This was Petkovic’s second singles victory of the weekend after she saw off the youthful challenge of Christina McHale 63 64 on Saturday. She has now extended her current Fed Cup singles winning streak to six matches, having won both singles in Germany’s 4-1 World Group II victory over Slovenia in February.

Petkovic plays in Stuttgart on a career-high ranking of No. 19 having reached the semifinals in Miami last month.

Oudin, whose stellar Fed Cup performances for the USA have seen them reach the final for the last two years, has struggled for form of late and also went down 62 76(5) to Julia Goerges yesterday. The American was unable to capitalise on a 4-2 lead in the second set.