Sharapova’s ride ends in 4th round

NEW YORK — Maybe this was just one threesetter too many for Maria Sharapova.

Sharapova tried a bit of everything, even resorting to switching over her racket to hit a few lefty shots. Still, the five-time major champion could not quite keep her Grand Slam comeback from a 15-month doping suspension going, losing in the fourth round of the U.S. Open to 16thseeded Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia 5-7, 6-4, 6-2 on Sunday.

“Three-set matches are challenging. I love being part of them. There’s an element of concentration, focus, physicality that goes into all of it. And you have to put it all together. You just have to get through it,” Sharapova said. “There’s no doubt that not playing those matches certainly cost me today.”

This was the third time in her four matches that Sharapova went the distance and she faded down the stretch.

The 30-year-old Russian finished with 51 unforced errors, compared with 14 for Sevastova.

“It’s been a really great ride,” Sharapova said.

“Ultimately, I can take a lot from this week,” she continued. “It’s great to get that major out of the way.”

Sharapova’s exit leaves Venus Williams as the only past U.S. Open champion in the women’s field. The 37-year-old Williams, who won the title in 2000 and 2001, got to the quarterfinals by beating Carla Suarez Navarro 6-3, 3-6, 6-1.

The ninth-seeded Williams will face 13thseeded Petra Kvitova.

Sloane Stephens also advanced.

Also Sunday, 17th-seeded Sam Querrey became the first American man to reach the U.S. Open quarterfinals since 2011 with a 6-2, 6-2, 6-1 win over No. 23 seed Mischa Zverev.

Querrey next will face 28th-seeded Kevin Anderson.

Canadian teenager Denis Shapovalov’s entertaining stay ended with a 7-6 (2), 7-6 (4), 7-6 (3) loss to 12th-seeded Pablo Carreno Busta.

In the quarterfinals, Carreno Busta will play 29thseeded Diego Schwartzman.