Saturday 28 February 2015 14:17, UK
Maria Sharapova was forced to pull out of the WTA Acapulco International because of a stomach virus, just hours before she was due to face Caroline Garcia in the semi-finals.
The top-seeded Russian said on her website: "I'm really sorry to have to withdraw.
“I had a great start to the event and was hoping I could recover in time for Friday’s match but unfortunately it was not enough time.
"I want to thank the tournament for organising such a great event and most importantly the fans who were so passionate during all of my matches."
Garcia of Franch was given a walkover and she will now face Timea Bacsinszky in Saturday’s final.
The Swiss No 5 seed beat Bulgarian Sesil Karatantcheva 6-2 6-4 in the only semi-final match to be played at the Mexico event.
Sharapova is scheduled to appear again in the WTA Tour tournament at Indian Wells in California which starts on March 11.
