Petra Kvitova suffers injury scare ahead of US Open

World No.5 Petra Kvitova suffered a blow ahead of the US Open, retiring from her New Haven quarterfinal with a left shoulder injury.

The Czech had dropped the opening set 6-3 to Carla Suarez Navarro before deciding she could not continue.

“It was in pain. It started during last night when I called the physio after the second set,” Kvitova told the tournament’s official website.

“I already felt it in the second yesterday but somehow I found a way to win that match. I was hoping today it would be better but unfortunately it wasn’t that good.

“I couldn’t really serve as well as I wanted, the service speed wasn’t that high. When you’re playing someone like Carla, if you’re not ready it’s really tough.”

Petra Kvitova retires with a shoulder problem.@CarlaSuarezNava, who had won the first set 6-3, progresses to the @connecticutopen semifinals. pic.twitter.com/g6CBLkFIVV

— WTA (@WTA) August 23, 2018

Added Suarez Navarro: “We know how Petra plays, and I am sad for her because I have a good relationship with her.”

Kvitova has drawn Belgian Yanina Wickmayer in the first round at Flushing Meadows, where she has reached the quarterfinals in two of her past three visits.

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The result sends Suarez Navarro through to the semifinals, where she will play Monica Puig. Suarez Navarro leads that head-to-head series 4-1.

Puig, the Olympic gold medallist at Rio 2016, reached her first tour-level semifinal of the year after overcoming No.2 seed Caroline Garcia in three sets.

The Puerto Rican began the tournament in qualifying and has now won six straight matches.

.@MonicaAce93 books her spot in the @connecticutopen semifinals!

Ousts No. 2 seed Caroline Garcia 7-5, 1-6, 6-2! pic.twitter.com/ysqoPnvmTQ

— WTA (@WTA) August 23, 2018

In the other semifinal, Julia Goerges will take on in-form Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka after both won their quarterfinals in straight sets.

Goerges, seeded fifth, beat former world No.8 Ekaterina Makarova 6-4 6-2, while Sabalenka dropped only five games against lucky loser Belinda Bencic, a former world No.7.

Sabalenka has won 14 of her past 19 matches, a run that began with her trip to the final in Eastbourne. The 20-year-old has jumped from world No.45 to No.25 in that time.

At the ATP event in Winston-Salem, Steve Johnson and Pablo Carreno Busta set up a meeting after both cruised into the semifinals in straight sets.

Johnson swatted aside third seed Kyle Edmund and Carreno Busta, the No.2 seed, eased to a 6-3 6-4 win over Hyeon Chung.

Unseeded Russian Daniil Medvedev overcame Ryan Harrison 7-6(4) 6-4 and will meet the winner of Nicolas Jarry and Taro Daniel in the other semifinal.

Winston Salem and New Haven are the last two events of the US Open Series. The US Open begins on Monday in New York.