France's Amelie Mauresmo is in serious doubt for her quarter-final match against Colombia's Fabiola Zuluaga at the Australian Open due to a tear in a back muscle, her coach said..

"She had a medical scan that showed a slight tear," Loic Courteau said. "We will have another test before tomorrow's (Tuesday's) match and it will depend on (the test) whether she plays or not.

"There is no question of taking the slightest risk to aggravate the injury. There is a pretty strong chance that she will not play, that she will have to pull out."

With Venus Williams a third-round loser, the fourth-seeded Mauresmo was considered one of the favourites for the title along with Belgian No. 1 Justine Henin-Hardenne and No. 2 Kim Clijsters.

Mauresmo, a runner-up at the Australian Open in 1999, was dominant in her first three matches, dropping only six games, but tweaked her back in a 7-5 7-5 fourth-round victory over Alicia Molik on Sunday.

The 32nd-seeded Zuluaga is the first Colombian woman to make the quarter-finals of a major. Their match is the first match scheduled for centre court.

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