Sharapova pulled out of Rome to boost French Open chances

Rome - World No. 2 Maria Sharapova has admitted that the upcoming French Open played a part in her decision to pull out of the Rome Masters.

Sharapova withdrew from the tournament citing illness , hours before she was due to play world No. 6 Sara Errani in the Rome quarterfinals.

“I usually don’t withdraw from tournament and all the competitions I play in mean a lot to me, but in the run-up to the French Open you have to take the right decisions,” she told R-Sport.

The French Open starts at Roland Garros on May 26, and Sharapova said she would spend two days resting before flying to Paris and starting training to defend her title.

A packed match schedule has taken its toll on Sharapova’s health.

“I’ve played a lot of matches in the last few weeks, first Stuttgart then Madrid, ten matches in a row on clay,” she said.

“I knew I’d be playing while tired in Rome, and in Madrid I got ill with the same thing and went out on court like that.”

“That’s why I think the illness returned. Last night I felt very bad. I simply couldn’t go out on court today in this condition.”

The withdrawal in Rome ends Sharapova’s run of reaching the semifinals of every tournament she has played in this season.

She won the Indian Wells tournament in March and the Stuttgart clay tournament last month, and lost to Serena Williams in the finals of Miami in March and in Madrid last week.