Maria Sharapova suffered one of the worst defeats of her career yesterday when she was beaten 6-0, 6-2 by Slovakia's Dominika Cibulkova in the French Open quarter-finals.
Maria Sharapova suffered one of the worst defeats of her career yesterday when she was beaten 6-0, 6-2 by Slovakia's Dominika Cibulkova in the French Open quarter-finals.
It was the former world number one's heaviest loss since she went down 6-1, 6-1 to Serena Williams in the fourth round in Miami in 2007.
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Dominika Cibulkova reacts after beating Maria Sharapova. PIC/AFP |
It could have been a lot worse for one of sport's most high-profile women as Cibulkova, playing in her first Grand Slam quarter-final, had a match point to complete a 6-0, 6-0 humiliation before the Russian managed to put two games together to stop the rot.
Had she suffered a whitewash, it would have been only her second 'double-bagel' after she lost 6-0, 6-0 to Lindsay Davenport in the Indian Wells semi-finals in 2005.
Sharapova saved three more match points in the eighth game of the second set before her resistance crumbled with a netted forehand.
"It took me a while to get going and create good opportunities to come to the net and finish the point," said Sharapova, who had played four three-setters to get this far in just her second event since returning from a 10-month injury lay-off.
"But you can only ask your body to do so much. Everything fell short and the pace wasn't there. It all combined but she played really solid and I came up short."
Cibulkova, the 20th seed, will now will face top seed Dinara Safina, who earlier put out Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, for a place in the final.
"It might be a surprising result for people who don't know me but I played solid from the baseline and didn't make too many errors," said the Bratislava girl.
"I knew that if I could make her move around the court I would have a chance.
"When it ws 6-0, 5-0 and I was 40-30 I realised what was happening, that I could beat Maria Sharapova and get to the semi-finals of a Grand Slam. She hit some great shots.
"But I knew I had to take my chances and not get too tight." Sharapova was bidding to reach her second semi-final following a run to the 2007 last four.
