US Open champs Clijsters, Del Potro among withdrawals from French Open; Blake also out

Clijsters, Del Potro, Blake out of French Open

PARIS — Reigning U.S. Open champion Kim Clijsters has pulled out of the French Open because of a left foot injury.

Other withdrawals announced Friday by the French Tennis Federation include the 2009 men’s U.S. Open champion, Juan Martin del Potro, sixth-ranked Nikolay Davydenko and James Blake of the United States.

The 10th-ranked Clijsters tore a muscle in her foot last month while playing a Fed Cup match for Belgium. She’ll be replaced at Roland Garros by Stephanie Dubois of Canada.

Other women out of the clay-court Grand Slam tournament: Urszula Radwanska, Sania Mirza, Anna-Lena Groenefeld and Sabine Lisicki.

Men who will miss the tournament include Tommy Haas and Igor Andreev.

The French Open starts May 23.