SYDNEY — Angelique Kerber brought to eight the number of the top-10 women's players laid low by injuries or illness in the lead up to the Australian Open when she withdrew from the Sydney International on Tuesday with a stomach illness.
The No. 7-ranked Kerber reached the final of last week's Brisbane International and beat Ukraine's Eline Svitolina in the first round in Sydney before falling ill and pulling out of her second-round match against Russia's Ekaterina Makarova.
"I'm very sorry I can't go on court today but I'm not feeling 100 percent," Kerber said. "I don't want to risk my health before Melbourne, of course, but I love to come back to the Apia International Sydney and always have good results here — semifinals last year and the final two years ago.