Tennis: Serena limps out of Ericsson Open

Jennifer Capriati beat a limping Serena Williams in the quarter-finals of the Ericsson Open in Miami.

Williams often found herself out of position and forced to hit awkward shots.

Between points she grimaced, hopped or bent over in pain. She iced her left thigh during changeovers and twice received treatment from a trainer.

Her sore thigh and some stinging forehands from Capriati spoiled a potential final on Saturday between the Williams sisters.

Fourth-seeded Capriati won 6-1 7-6 and advanced to Thursday's semi-finals.

The Williams siblings were supposed to play in the Indian Wells semi-final on March 15, but Venus pulled out with knee tendinitis, prompting speculation she ducked the match.

The crowd booed the family, and the sisters' father, Richard, amid fears that the jeers were racially motivated.

"We got some bad press for that," said Serena after her loss to Capriati, "so I decided to go all out."

Second-seeded American Lindsay Davenport retired with a bone bruise in her right knee several hours later while trailing number seven seed Elena Dementieva of Russia 6-3 1-0 in the last women's quarter-final.

Davenport suffered the injury earlier in the tournament.

"It was really hurting a lot out there," she said. "You can't win at this level when you're not 100 per cent."

Dementieva will play Capriati on Thursday, and number three seed Venus Williams will renew her rivalry with top seed Martina Hingis of Switzerland.

Serena Williams' low-key performance left little room for debate regarding the legitimacy of her injury, even though it wasn't previously disclosed.

The WTA Tour confirmed she has been receiving daily treatment since straining her thigh en route to the Indian Wells title.

"I have just been going on like a solider," Williams said. The injury has been getting progressively worse, she said, but she expects to be fine with a few days' rest.

Williams started poorly, but her injury didn't become evident until the opening game of the second set, when she pulled up limping after a point. She called for a trainer during the changeover leading 2-1 and again at 5-4. Capriati tried not to notice.

"She still came out playing some great points," Capriati said.

There were no jeers for Williams, but the crowd was firmly behind Capriati, a native Floridian, reigning Australian Open champion and sympathetic figure because of her teenage travails.

Early in the second set, the stadium erupted in cheers when Capriati chased a ball into the corner and lunged to smack a forehand winner down the line. The scrambling save left her standing next to Richard Williams, seated in the front row, and even he grinned at the shot.

"She was playing very well," said Serena, who was seeded fifth. "Sometimes it's kind of hard to play someone who is on the other end limping and grimacing, but she handled it very well."

Only some shaky serving by Capriati kept the second set close. She had to overcome two set points at 4-5 and another at 5-6. On match point Williams hit a weak second serve, and Capriati pounced with a thunderous forehand return to close out the victory.

"I am just very determined," she said. "It is just a real belief in myself."