Serena Williams: I played because £75,000 is a lot of money to me

World No 2 Serena Williams retired from her first-round match against Francesca Schiavone at the Madrid Open on Monday with a knee injury after losing the first set to the Italian 6-4, claiming she had to play in Spain.

from the Telegraph today.

I was in Marbella at the Andalucian open where she did the same thing.  Amazing to watch such a talented player – not moving at all and still controlling the game.  After losing the first set and the first few games of the second she turned up the heat and won a bunch of games in a row to take the second, then scaled down to avoid winning the 3rd and having to play again.  She was obviously in pain but still able to dominate the game when she wanted to. Inspirational to watch.

Marbella - Andalucia Open