Tennis: Change of opponent for Sharapova

Maria Sharapova. Photo / Dean Purcell

An illness-forced change means top seed Maria Sharapova will face a qualifier in her opening match of the ASB Classic tennis tournament in Auckland today.

The Russian had been scheduled to meet unseeded Spaniard Carla Suarez Navarro at a sold-out centre court, but the draw had to be reshuffled with the withdraw of fifth-seeded Latvian Anastasija Sevastova.

Sharapova will now face the "lucky loser", the highest-ranked player to be knocked out in the final round of qualifying.

Her opponent will not be confirmed until the end of qualifying but is likely to be Italian Alberta Brianti.

Sevastova's withdrawal also meant Suarez Navarro became the event's No 8 seed.

- NZPA