Medina Garrigues pulls out at Strasbourg

— Two-time defending champion Anabel Medina Garrigues of Spain pulled out of the Strasbourg International on Wednesday because of a lower back injury.

She withdrew from the second-round match against Kristina Barrois after losing the first set 6-4.

The top-seeded Medina Garrigues was aiming for her fourth Strasbourg title on clay.

Third-seeded Peng Shuai of China reached the quarterfinals after beating Pauline Parmentier of France 6-3, 7-6 (6).

Earlier, Medina Garrigues said she felt a sudden pang at the end of a long rally.

"After the final stroke, I felt a violent pinch in my lower back," she said. "It is a strong pain which stopped me from bending down, straightening back up, basically from moving around."

Despite the setback, Medina Garrigues hopes "two or three days rest" will be enough for her to recover in time for the French Open, which begins Sunday at Roland Garros.

In other matches, Aravane Rezai defeated Anastasiya Yakimova 6-4, 6-1; Ayumi Morita rallied to beat Julie Coin 4-6, 6-0, 6-4; Lucie Hradecka of the Czech Republic beat Alla Kudryavtseva of Russia 7-5, 6-0; Monica Niculescu of Romania topped Yuliya Beygelzimer of Ukraine 5-7, 6-0, 6-4; and Viktoriya Kutuzova of Ukraine downed French player Stephanie Foretz 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.


