Sharapova Ousted in 1st Round of Wimbledon

Russian tennis player Maria Sharapova?lost her first round match at Wimbledon on Tuesday. Emerging victorious in that encounter was compatriot?Vitalia Diatchenko?with a score of 6-7(3), 7-6(3), 6-4.

Ahead of this year’s tournament, Sharapova had a 13-0 winning streak in opening matches at the All England Club. She was also on a 10-match winning streak against compatriots.

The last time she lost in the opening round of a major was in 2010, when she lost to?Maria Kirilenko?at the Australian Open.

“I definitely had several chances in the match,” Sharapova said. “Although not playing my best tennis, I opened up a few doors and was a couple points away from winning this match.

“Sometimes you put yourself in a better or winning position, and you don’t finish through. That was the case today.”

It wasn’t smooth sailing for Diatchenko initially as she took a medical timeout with the match tied at 3-3 in the opening set. Then, Sharapova, the 2004 champion, clinched the tiebreak with a powerful serve.

It seemed to be a sure-shot victory for the 31-year old when she broke serve early in the second set. However, Diatchenko had other ideas as she rallied with three successive games to level the scores on Court No. 2.

Both players broke each other twice in the deciding set, with Sharapova serving for the match.?But Diatchenko held her nerve, wrapping up a famous victory in just over three hours when Sharapova double-faulted.

“That’s part of the game, is to feel moments of tension, to feel there’s something on the line,” Sharapova said. “That’s just human. No matter how many times you’ve done it, no matter what court you’re playing on, Centre Court, backcourt, just the moment, the crowd, Wimbledon, another tournament, you always want to do your best.

“Of course you feel it. But I love that feeling. That’s one of the reasons I play.”