Sharapova out of Indian Wells; Gibbs in WTA quarters

Two-time champion Maria Sharapova withdrew from Indian
Wells with a left forearm injury. 2014 photo by Paul Bauman

   Another former No. 1 player has withdrawn from the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells.
   Maria Sharapova pulled out with a left forearm injury, tournament CEO Raymond Moore announced Thursday. Sharapova won the title in 2006 and 2013.
   Four-time champion Roger Federer, who's recovering from arthroscopic knee surgery, withdrew from the BNP Paribas Open last week. The tournament is scheduled for Monday through March 20.
   Meanwhile, Mackenzie McDonald of Piedmont in the San Francisco Bay Area will make his main draw debut at Indian Wells after receiving a wild card on Thursday.
   McDonald, a junior at UCLA, was named the Pacific-12 Conference Player of the Year last season.
   WTA tour in Monterrey, Mexico -- Qualifier Nicole Gibbs, playing on her 23rd birthday, reached her second WTA quarterfinal when fellow American Christina McHale retired because of dizziness with Gibbs leading 7-6 (5), 6-7 (4), 3-0.
   Gibbs, a former two-time NCAA singles champion at Stanford, upset seventh-seeded Danka Kovinic of Montenegro in the first round.
   Gibbs will face 20-year-old Estonian Anett Kontaveit, who stunned top-seeded Sara Errani of Italy 6-1, 6-3. Kontaveit is 2-1 against Gibbs.
   Petra Martic of Croatia and Modesto product Maria Sanchez will play fourth-seeded Maria Irigoyen of Argentina and Paula Kania of Poland in the doubles semifinals.
   Martic and Sanchez surprised second-seeded Anastasia Rodionova of Australia and Alicja Rosolska of Poland in the opening round.
   Pacific Coast Men's Doubles in La Jolla, Calif. -- No. 12 seeds Alec Adamson and Adam Levie of UC Davis and No. 15 Nolan Paige and David Wilczynski of Stanford coasted in their first-round matches.