Following a loss to Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska in the second round at the Sydney International, Petkovic underwent scans that showed lower back stress fractures.
“I’ve been having some back problems for the last three or four months. 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 and I could only play for 30-45 minutes without pain,” Petkovic said.
Kim Clijsters, the defending champion and triple Grand Slam winner, and Maria Sharapova were forced to withdraw from the Brisbane International. Clijsters suffered a hip injury during her semifinal against Daniela Hantuchova, while Sharapova suffered an ankle injury. The Belgian and the Russian however, are expected to be fit in time for the Australian Open.
Along with the women’s draw, the men’s draw seems to be affected by injuries as well.
Former champions Roger Federer (back spasm) and Rafael Nadal (sore shoulder) are facing fitness issues as well. Federer pulled out of his match against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga at the Qatar Open at Doha due to a back injury. But he seemed in the zone yesterday during a recent training session at Melbourne.
Prior to that, Croatia’s Marin Cilic pulled out of the Australian Open with a knee injury and three-times semifinalist Tommy Haas still remains hopeful of making it to the Australian Open after having withdrawn from the Brisbane International due to calf muscle issues.
It would be interesting to see if the injuries to the top players will impact the outcome of the tournament and give someone else a shot at the title. The Australian Open beings on the 16th of January at the Rod Laver Arena.
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