Maria to skip Birmingham

French Open semi-finalists Maria Sharapova and Marion Bartoli have withdrawn from the AEGON Classic in Birmingham next week.

Russian to bypass traditional Wimbledon warm-up

French Open semi-finalists Maria Sharapova and Marion Bartoli have withdrawn from the AEGON Classic in Birmingham next week. Sharapova has used the tournament as her sole warm-up for Wimbledon in the past, winning twice and reaching the final on two further occasions. However, the Russian - who lost to Li Na in Paris on Thursday - has cited illness as the reason for pulling out. "The Birmingham tournament is one of my favourite events of the year and has great history for me," she said. "I am really sorry that I will miss all my amazing fans this year, but I will be back next year for sure." Bartoli, who suffered a straight sets loss to Francesca Schiavone at Roland Garros, will miss the event through injury. Tournament director, Patrick Hughesman said: "This is disappointing news for the tournament as Maria is very popular here in Birmingham. "However we do still have world-class players competing at the event, including Ana Ivanovic and Britain's own Heather Watson, so it will be a great event and we're looking forward to it enormously."