‘LOST HER SPARK’

Though her return and wildcard received mixed reaction, Sharapova was happy to win three rounds at a Grand Slam. However, former world No 1 Mats Wilander told an international agency that Sharapova had already ‘lost her spark’ even before the doping ban sidelined her from top-flight tennis.

“To be able to come back and play like she played is impressive but unfortunately when you go back you see she was not doing that well on tour since a couple of years before her suspension. She was not really playing that well before she got back from suspension. Why? Maybe she was lacking a bit of that Sharapova fire,” said Wilander.

2014: YEAR OF LAST GRAND SLAM

Sharapova registered her last Grand Slam win in 2014 when she won the French Open. In the other three, she lost in the fourth round. Her career ranking got a two-place boost – thanks to the French Open triumph as Sharapova reached No 2 spot.

2015: GOOD IN PARTS

Sharapova began the year by reaching the final at the Australian Open, and also reached the semifinal stage in Wimbledon. She made a fourth-round exit in the French Open and did not participate in the US Open. Sharapova slipped to No 4 in rankings at the end of the year.

2016: DOPING DOWNFALL

Sharapova announced in March 2016 that she failed a drug test for blood booster meldonium at the Australian Open. She claimed that she had been consuming it legally since 2006 and it was only added to the banned list in January that year. An independent tribunal appointed by International Tennis Federation imposed a ban of two years, which was reduced to 15 months by the Court of Arbitration on appeal.

2017: RETURN AND CONTROVERSY

Sharapova returned in April this year after serving the ban and was immediately given wildcards, something that did not go down well with other players. She was denied a wildcard by the French Open and skipped Wimbledon due to a thigh injury. She returned to action in the Stuttgart Grand Prix and made the semifinals. She lost in the second round at both the Italian Open and Madrid Open. Titles won: 0