Australian Open: Maria Sharapova uncertain on future post defeat
Former Australian Open champion Maria Sharapova of Russia suffered a shocking exit in the opening round of the tournament on Tuesday. Being unseeded, she was up against 19th seed Donna Vekić of Croatia, during which she lost in straight sets 6-3, 6-4. Meanwhile, following her exit, she has said that her future in the sport is uncertain. Here is more on this.
How did the match pan out?
As for the match, it started on a decent note for both. However, Vekić was soon into the groove as she forced Sharapova to an unforced error to earn a break and claim the opening set 6-3. While Sharapova looked to fight back in the following set, Vekić compelled her to commit 31 unforced errors during the match, thus claiming the second set too.
Sharapova feels her shoulder has let her down
Speaking post her loss, Sharapova spoke on her recent injury struggles, besides stating that her shoulder has gone through a lot of late, letting her down. "So, I was there. I put myself out there. As tough as it was, I finished the match and, yeah, it wasn't the way that I wanted," she said.
I was fortunate to get myself to be here: Sharapova
"I was fortunate to get myself to be here and thanks to (the organizers for) allowing me to be part of this event. It's tough for me to tell what's going to happen in 12 months' time," Sharapova further said on her Australian Open future.
Sharapova had a lengthy break from tennis following doping violation
In case one remembers, Sharapova was suspended from the sport for 15 months following a dope test failure during the 2016 Australian Open, as she tested positive for meldonium. Although she was initially handed a ban of two years, after careful consideration and Sharapova's admission that the intake of the substance through medicine was purely unintentional, it was reduced.
Sharapova had a below average performance since comeback
Following her comeback in 2017, she has failed to make an impact. The tennis star has managed to reach the semis of a WTA tournament just once, while she has reached the quarters on just three occasions. While she had a win percentage of 76 in 2017, it has reduced considerably in the following years, as she finished 2019 with 50% wins.
