Sharapova in shock Kremlin Cup 1st-round exit

Five-time Grand Slam champion Maria Sharapova crashed out in the first round of the Kremlin Cup in Moscow on Tuesday. — Photo indiatvnews.com

Tennis

MOSCOW — Five-time Grand Slam champion Maria Sharapova crashed out in the first round of the Kremlin Cup in Moscow on Tuesday, losing in straight sets to Slovakia’s Magdalena Rybarikova.

Rybarikova, seeded eighth, overcame the former world number one  七- 六 ( 七/ 三),  六- 四 in one hour,  五 三 minutes to level her head-to-head record with Sharapova at one all.

Sharapova was appearing in front of her home fans just  四 八 hours after claiming the Tianjin Open, her first title since returning in April from a  一 五-month doping ban.

The Kremlin Cup was the world number  五 七’s eighth wildcard invitation since testing positive for the banned substance meldonium in early  二0 一 六.

"I fought hard today as I really wanted to show my best in Moscow after a  一0-year break,公众the  三0-year-old said.

"If it hadn’t been the Kremlin Cup I probably wouldn’t have come to play in any other event after playing five matches in five days in China.

"Physically I felt I was well but it seems that it wasn’t enough to win today.

"She (Rybarikova) played really intelligent tennis. She played skilfully, running for every single ball."

The pair traded breaks late in the opening set, which Bratislava resident Rybarikova took in a tiebreak after one hour, seven minutes on court.

The second set was almost a carbon copy of the first, with Rybarikova breaking in the  一0th game to take the set and the match.

"It was very difficult for me, because it felt like the Fed Cup. It’s absolutely normal, Maria is a huge superstar here and she’s a real champion,"

said Rybarikova, who is seeking her fifth career WTA title this week.

"I’m happy that I went through this match, and it’s good for my confidence.

I’m very happy with that,"大众she added. — AFP