Friday 23 June 2017 11:48, UK
World No 5 Elina Svitolina revealed she could miss Wimbledon with a heel injury, after slumping to a second-round defeat to qualifier Camila Giorgi at the Aegon Classic in Birmingham on Thursday.
The 22-year-old Ukrainian, who slid to a 6-4 4-6 6-2 loss to a player ranked outside the top 100 at the Wimbledon warm-up event, afterwards suggested she would consider pulling out of the third Grand Slam tournament of the year, which starts on July 3.
"There is a question about it. I will talk with my physios," Svitolina said. "The season is very long and I must look at the bigger picture."
Struggling to recover from injury, Svitolina said her fitness levels made the match against Giorgi a difficult one.
"The heel feels painful and is very sensitive. I am disappointed I am out of the tournament but I am not disappointed with my performance, because I could not show even 50 percent," she added.
"Also the court was slippery which is bad for the foot."
English grass coursts contrasts greatly with the clay on which Svitolina won the Italian Open before reaching the French Open quarter-finals, where she missed a match point against eventual runner-up Simona Halep.
Meanwhile, Giorgi adapted to the slick surface well to hit some raging forehand drives and find good angles as she played close to the standard that two years ago took her to 30 in the world.
"I am not surprised about the way Giorgi played because she always played great on grass," Svitolina said.
Giorgi now has the chance to enhance that reputation with a quarter-final win if she can see off another surprise survivor Ashleigh Barty, a 21-year-old Australian making her first appearance in the main draw.
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