Sharapova into final after Davenport withdraws

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By Jeff Elliott

AMELIA ISLAND, Fla. (Reuters) - Top seed Maria Sharapova reached the final of the Amelia Island championships after Lindsay Davenport withdrew due to illness on Saturday.

"I am so very disappointed to not be able to take to the court today," said the 16th seeded American announcing she was pulling out of the semi-final against the Russian.

Sharapova will on Sunday meet the winner of Saturday's semi-final between Slovak Dominika Cibulkova and France's Alize Cornet, neither of whom are seeded for the tournament.

"Obviously, we all wish Lindsay a speedy recovery," said the Russian world number five. "It's always unfortunate especially in the semi-final of a tournament. I was definitely looking forward to the match-up today, but it happens."

Former world number one Davenport, who returned to the Tour last year following a break to have a baby, felt unwell after beating eighth-seeded Hungarian Agnes Szavay 6-4 7-6 on Friday.

"Right after my quarter-final victory, I started feeling sick while receiving treatment from our Tour's primary health care provider," added Davenport. "I returned to my hotel where the tournament doctor came to see me.

"Unfortunately, I was running a fever, had aches and pains and a headache. Those symptoms have worsened today. In the 16 years I have played on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, I do not believe I have ever had to pull out for sickness."

Sharapova moves into the final of a clay court tournament for the first time in her career and she could use a day of rest having played back-to-back three-set matches that took a total of six hours and 11 minutes to complete.

"I've obviously been playing a few more hours than I wanted to in the last few days," said the world number five. "You have to be careful what you wish for. I came into this tournament wanting some practice. I'm spending quite a few hours out there.

"I think this is the first time that I've actually got a walkover like this. It was a little strange.

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