Sharapova defiant amid Slam spiral
Russian suffers first opening round exit at a major tournament since Australia in 2010
Maria Sharapova insists she is not finished as a Grand Slam force despite her worst ever performance at Wimbledon, a tournament which should be her perfect showcase.
The 31-year-old gave up a set and a 5-2 lead to lose in the first round on Tuesday to fellow Russian Vitalia Diatchenko, an injury-plagued qualifier ranked a lowly 132 in the world. Diatchenko, who needed treatment on her back on three occasions, celebrated an unlikely 6-7 (3/7), 7-6 (7/3), 6-4 triumph after more than three hours on Court Two.
The match ended in twilight, a fitting metaphor for Sharapova who slipped to her first ever opening round defeat at the All England Club where she first burst upon the scene in 2003.
One year later, as a 17-yearold, she stunned Serena Williams to capture the Wimbledon title, the first of her five majors.
However, she has been back to the Wimbledon final only once since 2004, losing to Petra Kvitova in 2011.
This year was Sharapova’s first appearance at Wimbledon since 2015 having been sidelined by a doping ban in 2016 and injury last year.
“I have to take away the things that didn’t work well for me and get back and work through those, look for my next opportunities,” Sharapova insisted.
The loss was her first opening round exit at a Slam since Australia in 2010. “I always find the transition from clay to grass has been a little bit tougher for me as I’ve gotten older,” she admitted.