Sharapova loses to qualifier
LONDON — In first major Wimbledon upset on the women’s side, third-seeded Maria Sharapova was knocked out of the grasscourt Grand Slam by a 131st-ranked qualifier.
The 2004 Wimbledon champion was stunned 6-3, 6-4 by Michelle Larcher de Brito of Portugal in the second round.
Sharapova slipped and fell several times on the grass on Court 2 and received medical treatment from the trainer in the second set.
It wasn’t serious enough to force Sharapova to quit.
The 20-year-old Larcher de Brito played the match of her life against Sharapova on Court 2 to reach the third round of a Grand Slam for only the second time.
Larcher de Brito held her nerve in the final 10-minute, 18-point game to serve out the match. She saved two break points and finally converted on her fifth match point when Sharapova hit a forehand into the net.
“I can’t believe it,” Larcher de Brito said. “I just tried to stay calm. I just played so well. I just hung in there. In the last couple of points or games I just gave it my all and went for it.”
With Sharapova trailing 3-2 in the second set, her right leg gave way behind the baseline and she did the splits.
Sharapova took a medical timeout and complained to the umpire about the grass conditions. She said later she believed she strained a hip muscle.
“I don’t think I’ve ever fallen three times in a match before in my career, so that was a little strange,” Sharapova said. “But that’s certainly not an excuse.”
Men’s seeded winners: No. 2 Andy Murray; No. 15 Nicolas Almagro; No. 20 Mikhail Youzhny; No. 22 Juan Monaco; No. 24 Jerzy Janowicz; No. 25 Benoit Paire; No. 32 Tommy Robredo.
Men’s seeded losers: No. 3 Roger Federer; No. 6 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga; No. 10 Marin Cilic; No. 18 John Isner; No. 31 Julien Benneteau.
seeded winners: No. 8 Petra Kvitova; No. 15 Marion Bartoli; No. 17 Sloane Stephens; No. 19 Carla Suarez Navarro; No. 20 Kirsten Flipkens; No. 25 Ekaterina Makarova; No. 29 Alize Cornet.
seeded losers: No. 2 Victoria Azarenka; No. 3 Maria Sharapova; No. 9 Caroline Wozniacki; No. 12 Ana Ivanovic; No. 16 Jelena Jankovic; No. 22 Sorana Cirstea; No. 27 Lucie Safarova.
On court Thursday: No. 1 Novak Djokovic vs. Bobby Reynolds; No. 1 Serena Williams vs. Caroline Garcia; No. 4 David Ferrer vs. Roberto Bautista Agut; No. 4 Agnieszka Radwanska vs. Mathilde Johansson; No. 6 Li Na vs. Simona Halep; No. 7 Tomas Berdych vs. Daniel Brands; No. 8 Juan Martin del Potro vs. Jesse Levine; No. 9 Richard Gasquet vs. Go Soeda; No. 12 Kei Nishikori vs. Leonardo Mayer; No. 13 Tommy Haas vs. Jimmy Wang; No. 14 Samantha Stosur vs. Olga Puchkova; No. 23 Sabine Lisicki vs. Elena Vesnina; No. 24 Peng Shuai vs. Marina Erakovic; No. 29 Grigor Dimitrov vs. Grega Zemlja.