Ivanovic forced to withdraw from Games

Top women's seed Ana Ivanovic has withdrawn from the Olympic tennis event with an injury to her right thumb.

The 20-year-old said: "This is one of the hardest moments of my career and one of the hardest decisions I've had to take.

"I was so looking forward to playing here and being part of this occasion."

Ivanovic, who will be replaced by fellow Serb Jelena Jankovic at the top of the world rankings on Monday, said she had not been able to practise since arriving in China.

The French Open champion was due to play Mariya Koryttseva of Ukraine in the first round but said she would go home "in a day or two" to try to recover in time for the US Open.

Ivanovic said she suffered the injury when she returned to practice following a two-week break after her disappointing showing at Wimbledon, where she lost in the third round.

She joins a growing list of players who have pulled out of the Games' tennis event.

Maria Sharapova withdrew with a shoulder injury and Lindsay Davenport pulled out of the singles on Friday with a knee injury.

In the men's draw, Croatians Ivo Karlovic and Ivan Ljubicic both withdrew injured from the singles on Saturday.

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