US OPEN 2011: Venus Withdraws in 2nd Round!

Oh no!! Just minutes before she was scheduled to play her 2nd round match against 2011 Wimbledon semifinalist Sabine Lisicki (which I did not believe she would win) 7-time major champion Venus Williams, 31, withdrew from the tournament, claiming an "unspecified illness."

Venus had won her first round match relatively handily 6-3 6-4 no Monday night and looked sharp. Still, she has only played 11 matches all year long, and will fall out of the Top 100, since she reached the 2010 US Open semifinals and will fail to defend those ranking points. Already her sister Serena Williams, the favorite to win her 14th major in New York, has stated that she would probably continue playing even if Venus were to retire. She reiterated that neither sister has any plans to retire any time soon.

Earlier this year Venus Williams retired for the first time ever during a Grand Slam match, in the 3rd round in Australia versus Andrea Petkovic.

In other news, my pre-tournament pick for the women's final, Marion Bartoli, was upset by American teenager Christina McHale.

UPDATE 05:28PM EDT
Venus has released a statement which says that she has been disgnosed with Sjogren's Syndrome. ESPN has the deets:

"I enjoyed playing my first match here, and wish I could continue but right now I am unable to," Williams said in a statement released by the tournament. "I am thankful I finally have a diagnosis and am now focused on getting better and returning to the court soon."

According to the Sjogren's Syndrome Foundation website, the disease is a chronic autoimmune illness in which people's white blood cells attack their moisture-producing glands. Common symptoms include dry eyes and dry mouth. As many as 4 million Americans have the disease.

Williams arrived at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on Wednesday hours before her match was scheduled to begin and tried warming up by hitting balls.

When Williams left the site shortly before 5 p.m., wearing a white sweater and purple shorts, she was asked by reporters whether she would say anything. She smiled and waved and shook her head to indicate, "No," then climbed into the back of a tournament transportation car and rode away.

"All of us came with the full expectation she'd be playing today. She was geared up to play her match," said Williams' agent, Carlos Fleming.

"I just hope she's OK," Fleming added, "and I hope she's healthy and going to be fine."

Despite having won seven Grand Slam singles titles, Williams was unseeded at the U.S. Open because her ranking has fallen to 36th after a year of little action. Since reaching the semifinals at last year's U.S. Open, Williams has played only 11 matches, and the WTA projects that her ranking will slide out of the top 100.