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Men's Tennis
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Women's Tennis
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| Tuesday, May 22 Updated: May 23, 8:30 AM ET |
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| Pierce loses again, may pull out of Paris Reuters | |||
STRASBOURG, France – Defending French Open
champion Mary Pierce lost in the first round of the Strasbourg
women's tournament on Tuesday and said she might be forced out
of the French Open, starting next week.
Beaten by Uzbek Yroda Tulyaganova, 3-6, 6-3, 6-1, Pierce,
whose season has been troubled by back problems and other
injuries, said she was still suffering and unable to play her
best tennis.
"I have quite a few things to think about. Am I really fit
enough to play competitive professional tournaments? Do I risk
hurting myself again because I'm not fit enough and my back is
not solid enough?," she asked.
Pierce did officially pull out of the French Open on Wednesday.
"Is it worth it to walk on court and not be able to play my
game and to disappoint my fans and me as well?," she added.
"They are things I must see about with my coach and my
physiotherapist," she said.
Very lackluster during the two hours of the match against
her opponent, ranked 67th in the world, she said it was too
early yet to decided whether to pull out of Paris.
Pierce had come to Strasbourg to try to improve her game on
clay and was scheduled to play doubles with Japanese Ai
Sugiyama, who ousted top-seeded South African Amanda Coetzer,
6-4, 6-4, in the first second-round match of the tournament.
"I hope to play matches, to be as good as I can, to play
the French Open again. It's my favorite title, I won it last
year and my fans are waiting for me, my family too," she said.
Asked what she was still capable of doing on court at the
moment, she said: "Nothing.
"If the ball is on me, I can hit it, otherwise, running,
serving, they are things I cannot do well."
Pierce, who was seeded third in Strasbourg, said she
probably resumed competition too early after pulling out of the
U.S. Open with tendinitis in her shoulder.
She later had tendinitis in both feet on top of her back
problems.
"I have not been fair to myself. For sure I returned too
early. It's tough not to play, but it's also tough to play like
this," she said.
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ALSO SEE Tuesday's results Dokic pulls out of Strasbourg tourney with injury | |
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