• BNP Paribas Open

Wozniacki gifted semi-final berth by Azarenka injury

ESPN staff
March 17, 2011
Victoria Azarenka damaged her hip © PA Photos
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BNP Paribas Open seedings

Top seed Caroline Wozniacki will be well rested for the semi-finals at Indian Wells after Victoria Azarenka retired three games into Thursday's last-eight encounter.

Azarenka hurt her hip when attempting a forehand in the third game and, following a 14-minute medical timeout, she regrettably withdrew. The score read 3-0 to Wozniacki at the time.

The world No. 1 actually started poorly in the day's opening match, facing break points in her first service game. Wozniacki survived though, and then immediately broke Azarenka's serve to take control of the match before injury struck.

"It's always hard to play a great friend," Wozniacki said. "But when I saw her getting hurt, I thought: 'Oh no, that's not the way we want to play'. I wish her all the best and hope she can play Miami next week."

In contrast, Maria Sharapova faced a stern challenge from Shuai Peng on her way to the final four, the former No. 1 eventually winning 6-2 5-7 6-3 in nearly two and half hours.

Peng exerted pressure on Sharapova's second serve, forcing 13 double faults and allowing the Russian to win just 27% of points on her second effort. But Sharapova's all-round game was too powerful has she returned with gusto and won over half the points on Peng's serve.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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