Golovin has ankle checked at hospital after Nasdaq exit

MIAMI, Mar 31 (Reuters) France's Tatiana Golovin went to hospital to have her injured left ankle examined yesterday after being forced to retire from her Nasdaq-100 Open semi-final clash against Russian Maria Sharapova.

The 18-year-old Golovin lost the first set 6-3 but battled back in the second, staving off four match points before taking the set on a tie-break.

But disaster struck in the deciding third set when the teenager twisted an ankle while losing 4-3.

''I felt a pain when I landed on this ankle,'' a tearful Golovin told reporters.

''We were even and I've tried to resume the game but when I felt the pain going through the whole ankle, I realised I could not go on.'' Sharapova will meet Svetlana Kuznetsova in an all-Russian final on Saturday. Kuznetsova hammered world number one Amelie Mauresmo 6-1 6-4 in the other semi-final.

''She was really unlucky, I feel bad for her,'' said Sharapova.

''She was probably playing her best tennis, it was amazing, the game started to turn into a physical battle.'' REUTERS DH HT1552