Poulter falters, ties Johnson for lead

ISSY-LES-MOULINEAUX, France – Two-time Grand Slam champion Amelie Mauresmo retired from tennis Thursday, saying she no longer had a burning desire for competition.

The 30-year-old Frenchwoman, a former top-ranked player who finished the season No. 21, said she doesn’t have the will to keep playing at the highest level.

“I don’t want to train anymore,” Mauresmo said after shedding tears about the decision. “I had to make a decision, which became evident in the last few months and weeks. When you grew older, it’s more difficult to stay at the top.”

Mauresmo, who won both of her Grand Slam titles in 2006, at the Australian Open and Wimbledon, said she was happy to leave on a good note after winning her 25th singles title – her first in almost two years – in Paris this season.

“It’s a bit sad, but this is the right decision,” Mauresmo said. “I was lucky enough to have an exceptional career and to experience very strong feelings on the court.”

Mauresmo, who was the No. 1-ranked player in 2004, played her last match in the second round of this year’s US Open, losing to Aleksandra Wozniak of Canada 6-4, 6-0. She then pulled out of her last two tournaments of the year.

“It became very hard in build-up to the US Open,” Mauresmo said. “If I were able to enter the court, play and shine, of course I could continue, but to achieve this you need to put in such hard work. And I’m not capable of that.”

Mauresmo said she has no regrets and feels very proud when she looks back at a career that started in 1993.

“I dreamt of this career, I dreamt of winning a Grand Slam title,” she said. “I lifted trophies in every city in the world and I lived 10 magical and unbelievable years.”

Mauresmo, who says she decided to play tennis after watching Yannick Noah win the 1983 French Open, became the first player from France – male or female – to reach the No. 1 spot on Sept. 13, 2004.

But she was never able to emulate Noah’s feat of winning on the clay at Roland Garros, failing to go beyond the quarterfinals at the Grand Slam tournament in Paris, where she struggled to withstand the pressure in front of her home crowd. (AP)