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    TOKYO, Japan -- World No.1 Maria Sharapova retired in the second set of her Pan Pacific Open semifinal against Serbia's Ana Ivanovic because of a hamstring injury. Ivanovic will play second seed Martina Hingis in the final of the $1.3 million tournament after the Swiss beat Russian Elena Dementieva 6-4 6-3. Sharapova, trailing 1-6 1-0, said she felt a sharp pain after serving in the second game of the first set, adding that she had been carrying a hamstring strain since the Australian Open. "It's always difficult to end the tournament this way," said the 19-year-old. "I was hoping the pain would settle or get better, but against a top player it is hard to get away with not serving or returning well. "My left hamstring has been having tightness since the Australian Open but after a grand slam you are tight all over," said Sharapova, who lost to Serena Williams in the Melbourne Park final last weekend. "But this was a sudden sharper pain after I landed after the serve. I asked the trainer and she said these kind of strains take seven or 10 days to recover from, so hopefully I can recover quickly." Hingis avenged her defeat by Dementieva in last year's final to stay on course for a record fifth Tokyo title. "It was a great start for me today and I didn't really miss a shot," said Hingis, who raced into a 3-0 lead in the first set. "I had a bad experience against her in last year's final and I was happy to get more than two games," said Hingis, who lost 6-2 6-0 to Dementieva in 2006. Hingis attacked Dementieva's backhand side and took a 5-1 lead in the first set. She was never in danger afterwards, forcing a break in the eighth game of the second set and wrapping up the win in 70 minutes. "That's my strategy for most of the time," Hingis said of her attack on Dementieva's backhand -- because I feel like my backhand is a stronger part. "She also hit a lot of backhand cross-court rallies. I also tried to change up to go down the line. It's definitely my big weapon, my backhand cross court." Dementieva said: "She was solid. She was very consistent during the whole game, playing very smart as usual. "I think I didn't play my best. I made too many unforced errors. I just didn't take an advantage of short balls to come to finish the points. I think she was better by playing a lot of rallies," she added. Out-of-sortsFifth-seeded Ivanovic stormed into a one-set lead as an out-of-sorts Sharapova struggled on serve and the top seed called for her trainer at the end of the first set. With on-court coaching allowed in Tokyo, Sharapova and coach Michael Joyce had a testy exchange with the umpire after the player was denied treatment for her injury. An angry Sharapova, who won the tournament in 2005, demanded to see her trainer and Joyce accused the umpire of not knowing the rules. The trainer was eventually allowed on court. A clearly limping Sharapova, who served 31 double faults in her previous two matches and four against Ivanovic, won her first service game of the second set before retiring. |
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Sharapova hopes to be fit to play again within 10 days.
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