Injury blow for Lisicki

An abdominal injury has forced top seed Sabine Lisicki to pull out of the Auckland Classic.

Top seed withdraws during her quarter-final

An abdominal injury has forced top seed Sabine Lisicki to pull out of the Auckland Classic. The world No.15 was trailing 6-4 4-3 to fellow German Angelique Kerber in the quarter-finals when she decided to call it a day. Lisicki, who also had issues with cramp during her second round victory over Mona Barthel, sought medical attention after losing the first set and continued to have treatment between games before finally admitting defeat. Kerber will meet fourth seed Flavia Pennetta in the semi-finals after the Italian hammered Elena Vesnina 6-2 6-1. Zheng Jie also advanced to the last four after she saw of Lucie Hradecka 6-2 6-3. The Chinese ace will now meet third seed Svetlana Kuznetsova, who defeated Sara Errani 6-4 6-3.