Victoria Azarenka was due to play Williams in a rematch of last year&#39;s thrilling US Open final, which Williams won 7-5 in the third set. However, after undergoing a medical procedure on her toe on Thursday, Azarenka decided she could not take to the court for her clash with Williams. &quot;It&#39;s been there for the last 10 days and it&#39;s been getting worse,&quot; the world number one said. &quot;I had to take action, which I did yesterday, and I didn&#39;t have enough time to recover.&quot; Azarenka said the toe became infected after a pedicure and said she had tried taping it and playing through the pain. <img alt="Azarenka" src="http://images.mid-day.com/2013/jan/azarenka8jan.jpg" style="width: 500px; height: 785px;" /> Victoria Azarenka. Pic/ AFP But after it failed to improve she decided to undergo medical treatment. &quot;It&#39;s just something that I had to do to make sure that I can be fully recovered and ready for the Australian Open,&quot; she said. &quot;It&#39;s a compromise I had to make. &quot;It&#39;s just very unfortunate timing, because I was really looking forward to playing. But I&#39;m also quite happy I had two matches here already, which was kind of the point, to come here and get some matches.&quot; Williams will now play either Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova or Ukraine&#39;s Lesia Tsurenko in the final. Azarenka&#39;s withdrawal is the second high profile casualty to hit the Brisbane tournament after second seed Maria Sharapova pulled out with a collarbone injury before her first match.

Players feel the heat in Sydney

Top seed Victoria Azarenka has withdrawn from her much-anticipated Brisbane International semi-final against Serena Williams on Friday after failing to recover from an infected right big toe.

Azarenka pulls out injured, Williams into final

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Home / Sports / Other Sports / Article / Azarenka pulls out injured, Williams into final

Azarenka pulls out injured, Williams into final

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