Top seed Lindsay Davenport will face Jelena Jankovic in the Dubai Open final after Serena Williams was forced to retire with an arm injury. Williams was trailing Jankovic 0-6 3-4 when she quit, blaming the balls for causing the problem.
"I honestly believe it's the balls. The last time I had this problem was at the (WTA) Championships," she said.
World number one Davenport overcame illness to beat Switzerland's Patty Schnyder 4-6 7-5 6-1.
Williams discussed her injury with her trainer before opting to end her participation in the match.
Prior to her withdrawal, the American had been serving at a very slow pace and was not returning with any venom.
"It hurts really bad. Obviously, hitting to my forehand was definitely a smart thing to do," she added.
"One more forehand, I think I was gonna die. Serving is obviously very hard, because to wind up is difficult."
"I had the feeling that I was going to get sick," said Davenport.
"It's hard when there are people around because you really don't want that to happen. So I was trying really hard not to let that happen.
"I was just trying to keep the points short for a few games. Then the trainer came out and gave me some anti-nausea medicine.
"It wasn't very bad, it was OK. I just didn't want to get sick in front of those people."
MMIX
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