Venus Williams withdrew from the 2011 US Open barely minutes before her second round match with Sabine Lisicki was due to take place.
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Williams was due to face Lisicki at Flushing Meadows on Wednesday evening but the American, who won the US Open in 2000 and 2001, has been forced to withdraw from the tournament because of illness.
The 31-year-old has barely played in the last twelve months due to a series of injuries but she put in a solid performance in the opening round of this year's final major, beating Vesna Dolonts in straight sets and there was a growing feeling that she could be set to produce one final hurrah in front of a partisan crowd in New York. That will no longer happen and it is now over two years since the seven times Grand Slam champion has reached a major final and more than three years since she claimed a title (Wimbledon 2008).
Lisicki will now receive a walkover into the last 32 of the 2011 US Open, where she will face either Dominika Cibulkovaor Irina Falconi for a place in the the fourth round. The 22nd seed, who won the WTA Dallas last week, is now 14/1, at
bet365, to win this year's US Open.
