NEW YORK(AP) No. 23 seed Sabine Lisicki sprained her ankle and crumpled to the court in pain on the last point of her second-round loss at the U.S. Open on Thursday.
Qualifier Anastasia Rodionova of Australia, ranked 139th, upset the German 6-3, 3-6, 7-5.
Lisicki rolled her left ankle as she slid after the ball and stayed down for several minutes while the ankle was heavily wrapped. The 19-year-old was rolled off the court in a wheelchair, wiping tears from her eyes, then was taken to the hospital.
Lisicki came into the Open bothered by a sore right shoulder that forced her to alter her service motion. She hadn't played since Aug. 6 before her first-round match Tuesday.
The 27-year-old Rodionova matched her best showing at a Grand Slam; she also reached the third round at the U.S. Open in 2006.
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MOVIN' ON UP: Jesse Witten is enjoying the luxuries of playing at the U.S. Open, where the qualifier has advanced to the third round with the first two tour-level victories of his career.
Having ball kids, for instance.
The 26-year-old American was playing on the Futures circuit earlier this year, where the same balls are used all match and have swelled up by the end. The winner may earn only about $1,200 and competitors sometimes stay with host families - which beats the alternative of a dingy motel.
The families really help you out,'' Witten said Thursday after beating Maximo Gonzalez of Argentina 6-7 (3), 6-4, 7-5, 6-2.They give you some food and make you feel like you're at home every once in a while.''
Now he's staying at the Waldorf-Astoria.
Witten was considering quitting tennis at the start of this year after he lost his sponsor, a software security company in his hometown of Naples, Fla. Asked about his money situation, Witten quipped, ``Or lack thereof?''
But he won enough at those minor-league tournaments ``in some places that you probably have never heard of'' to stay afloat.
Mansfield, Texas. Brownsville,'' he said when asked to name some of the out-of-the-way locales.I don't even remember them, because half the time I didn't really want to know. I mean, there's a lot of little places that you don't get any recognition.
``It's tough. You just have to go out there and put the time in and get through it so you can get to here.''
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NO DOUBLES TROUBLE: Venus Williams' sore left knee was still heavily taped during her first-round doubles match with sister Serena on Thursday. Just as during her singles victory a day earlier, Williams showed no ill effects in their 6-2, 6-2 win over Julia Goerges of Germany and Arantxa Parra Santonja of Spain.
The knee began bothering her when she struggled through a first-round win Monday. But that didn't stop the sisters from taking the court for their doubles match. Unlike other elite singles players, they are willing to risk the extra wear and tear of competing in doubles at a Grand Slam.
I actually felt pretty good today,'' Williams said.I'm going to definitely be in both events.''
Roger Federer recalled Wednesday night the moment he decided he was no longer going to play Grand Slam doubles. As a teenager in 2001, he stunned top-seeded Pete Sampras in the fourth round at Wimbledon.
His doubles partner, Wayne Ferreira, told him they should pull out so Federer could focus on singles.
I was like, 'Well, I want to play doubles,''' Federer recalled.He goes, 'Well, I'm injured in case, just so you know.'
``He pulled out. He did that for me. I was like, This doesn't feel right. That's, I guess, what made me just like, you know, I better not enter.''