Both the men’s and women’s U.S. Open fields lost marquee players on Wednesday. Mardy Fish and Maria Sharapova will be skipping the season’s final Grand Slam.
Plagued by a heart issue ever since the fourth round of last year’s U.S. Open, Mardy Fish withdrew from the 2013 installment on Wednesday. Less than 24 hours after retiring in a Winston-Salem Open third set against Jarkko Nieminen, Fish took to Twitter to make his announcement.
Friends, unfortunately my health won't allow me to compete this year at the US Open. Thank you for all your support.
— Mardy Fish (@MardyFish) August 21, 2013
Because the qualifying event is already underway, a lucky loser will replace Fish in the main draw. The 31-year-old American joins Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (knee), Marin Cilic (personal), and Viktor Troicki (suspension) on the sidelines.
On the women’s side, Maria Sharapova’s tumultuous summer continued with her U.S. Open withdrawal. Sharapova fired new coach Jimmy Connors after one match in Cincinnati before toying with the idea of changing her surname to Sugarpova–her candy line–for the duration of the U.S. Open. Now she will not be in New York under any name.
The Russian has a shoulder injury and could be sidelined for up to four months.
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