A shoulder injury forced second seed Kim Clijsters to quit her third-round match at the Indian Wells Masters, handing over a 3-6, 3-1 victory Tuesday to French 15th seed Marion Bartoli, dpa reported.
Winner of the last two US Open titles and January's Australian Open champion, Clijsters had been bothered by the shoulder problem since earlier in the season and had suggested after her last match that it was not improving.
"My intentions are to go to Miami and rehab there and plan on playing my first round," said Clijsters. "I'm gonna just see every day how it goes. Obviously I'm going to need a few days of rest. You know, I'm gonna probably go and have some tests done there and see."
Clijsters said she has been troubled by the shoulder since January: "I already felt it in the last few tournaments. At the end of the Australian Open I was already having some acupuncture from my trainer because I was having some pains in that shoulder. With the drive volleys that I was hitting, everything that was kind of a little bit higher up, I felt I was struggling with it a little bit."
Bartoli will next face unseeded former number one Ana Ivanovic, who hammered Jelena Jankovic 6-4, 6-2.
Ivanovic and Jankovic, both former number one players, are familiar opponents. Ivanovic improved her overall record in the series to eight wins, three defeats as she reversed a two-match loss streak against her compatriot dating to 2008.
In men's play, three-time champion Roger Federer crushed Juan Chela 6-0, 6-2 in just 54 minutes. Serb Novak Djokovic was equally impressive against Latvian Ernests Gulbis 6-0, 6-1.
Wimbledon finalist Tomas Berdych, the seventh seed, made a quiet move into the fourth round as he defeated Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci 6-3, 6-2.
Frenchman Richard Gasquet knocked out Austrian 10th seed Jurgen Melzer 6-1, 6-3. Serb Viktor Troicki, the next Djokovic opponent, beat Michael Llodra 6-3, 6-3.
Third seed Djokovic, the 2008 champion, won the first nine games against Gulbis, a patchy talent ranked 34th, whose game can vary from highs to lows in the space of a few minutes.
"I was just trying to keep the ball in the court, not doing too much, making him play an extra shot and changing the pace. He was not feeling comfortable, obviously," Djokovic said.
Djokovic has been unstoppable so far this year, now 14-0 on the season with Australian Open and Dubai titles in the bag. He could take the number two ranking from Roger Federer this week if he reaches the final or reaches the semi-finals and Federer loses before the quarters.
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