Spain's Rafael Nadal celebrating to the crowd after his straight sets victory against United States' Jared Donaldson during their men's singles second round match on day seven of the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden on Sunday — AFP INDIAN WELLS, Mar 11 (Agencies): Serena Williams' return to tennis after a five-week break ended early with her retiring from the BNP Paribas Open because of a viral illness Sunday.
Williams raced to a 3-0 lead over two-time major champion Garbine Muguruza in their third-round match before dropping six straight games and the first set, 6-3.
During the changeover between sets, Williams called for a trainer. She went back out and lost the first game of the second set. The match was soon declared over and Williams walked off the court.
Muguruza is the only player to have beaten both Serena and Venus Williams in tournament finals.
Williams was playing her first tournament since the Australian Open in late January, when she lost in the quarterfinals.
Rafael Nadal breezed past American Jared Donaldson 6-1, 6-1 and Roger Federer beat Peter Gojowczyk 6-1, 7-5 in the second round. Federer saved six of seven break chances against the German after losing just two points on his serve in the first set.
Halep, the No. 2 seed, needed nearly two hours to beat qualifier Kateryna Kozlova 7-6 (3), 6-3 in the third round.
Kozlova led 6-5 and was within two points of winning the first set before Halep forced a tiebreaker in their first meeting. Halep dominated the tiebreaker, urged on by a large contingent of Romanian fans at Indian Wells Tennis Garden.
Bianca Andreescu, an 18-year-old Canadian, moved on with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Stefanie Voegele. Andreescu reached the semifinals in Mexico last week.
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