Nightmare for Maria as she flops on return
MARIA SHARAPOVA’S mediocre record since her return from a doping ban continued as the 2004 champion was bundled out in the first round of Wimbledon by world No 132 Vitalia Diatchenko.
The five-time Grand Slam champion has failed to make it past the quarterfinals at a major since she returned from her 15-month suspension for meldonium use in April 2017. The question must be asked as to whether the 31-year-old can still perform at the highest level without the benefit of the drug.
Diatchenko had only won two Grand Slam matches in her career before yesterday but she produced a nerveless display to knock out her fellow Russian 6-7, 7-6, 6-4.
Sharapova had served for the match at a set and 5-3 up and came within two points of victory but she faltered in the vital moments. The 31-year- old sent down 11 double faults — the final one on match point — leaked 34 unforced errors and was broken seven times.
As for Diatchenko, in the moments when players so often fade in the face of the awesome force of Sharapova’s competitive spirit, she stood firm.
It was an epic contest. At three hours and eight minutes it was the longest women’s match of the Championships so far. The match ended in near darkness at 9.07pm. This was Sharapova’s first appearance at the All England Club for three years. She missed last year’s Championships with a thigh injury and in 2016 she was in the middle of her ban.
It became clear early on that Sharapova had a serious game on her hands. She had not played a competitive match since the French Open and looked undercooked here.
Diatchenko, 27, is part of that rare breed who hit double handed off both forehand and backhand wings. It is not a style that lends itself to subtlety and she smacked the ball hard and flat.
Sharapova was more than happy to follow suit and the pair blasted away at each other in an error-strewn opening.
The wind was blowing out on Court 2 and both players struggled badly on serve in the first set, handing over three breaks of serve each. The players had to be separated by a tiebreak, and Sharapova took it 7-3.
She forged ahead in the second set, taking an early break and backing it up as her serve finally started to sing. But at 5-3 down Diatchenko showed the kind of bloody-mindedness of which her more heralded countrywoman would have been proud, grinding out two games in a row to level and then force a second tiebreak.
Diatchenko rode the wave through the tiebreak, winning it 7-3 to leave the scores precisely symmetrical. The third set was the highest standard by far, with both players seeing the ball well despite the dying of the light. They traded breaks of serve until Sharapova had to serve to stay in the tournament.
And at the vital moment her serve let her down once again, a double fault bringing an ignominious end to her tournament.