Maria Sharapova injured her ankle while serving at 3-4 against Petra Kvitova in Tokyo quarterfinals and was unable to continue the match because her ankle showed immediate signs of swelling. In other Tokyo news, Maria Kirilenko, who knocked out newly-crowned US Open champion Samantha Stosur in the second round and then 2008 French Open champion Ana Ivanovic, was eliminated by fourth-seeded Vera Zvonareva in the quarters.
Sharapova had a chance to possibly overtake the No.1 ranking from Caroline Wozniacki if:
1) she reached the final in Tokyo and
2) followed it with a Beijing title.
Those chances are now ruined that the Russian is injured:
I hit a serve and then landed awkwardly on my left ankle. I felt a sharp pain and next thing I knew I was on the floor. It swelled up immediately and I knew there was no way I could continue.
Kirilenko had significant victories in the early rounds of Tokyo, but Zvonareva continued the trend of beating her fellow Russian, dismissed Kirilenko 6-3 6-3 and extended the lead in their career meetings to 6-0.
Zvonareva and Kvitova are one semifinal pair, and the other one is Victoria Azarenka and Agnieszka Radwanska. (photos: © Neal Trousdale, source: ESPN)
