World No. 2 Maria Sharapova crashed out of the Miami Open on Thursday, ambushed by world No. 97 Daria Gavrilova 7-6 (7/4), 6-3.
The upset, the biggest so far at the combined WTA and ATP event, took 1 hour, 49 minutes and marked the worst defeat five-time Grand Slam winner Sharapova has endured in Miami since she lost in the first round on her debut in 2003.
“It’s sport and I happened to lose the match,” Sharapova said of dropping her second-round opener after a first-round bye. “Of course, it’s a bit of a surprise... I’m expected to win, but that’s one of the reasons why we play the matches — you still have to go out and win it, no matter if you’re the favorite.”
Photo: AFP
“Today, I didn’t,” added the former world No. 1, who has never lifted the trophy in Miami, despite five trips to the final.
Gavrilova, who only broke into the top 100 on Monday, let out a squeal of delight upon sealing the win.
“I still can’t realize that it’s my dream,” said Gavrilova, who said she had dreamed of beating Sharapova ever since she saw her countrywoman beat Serena Williams in the Wimbledon final in 2004.
Photo: AFP
The surprise defeat of the second seed opens the door for a possible move by Romania’s Simona Halep from No. 3 to No. 2 in the world rankings behind Williams.
Sharapova lost the opening set after nearly an hour and quickly found herself trailing the former junior world No. 1 4-1 in the second.
Sharapova clawed a break back, but was then broken to love as Gavrilova set herself up for the win with a 5-3 lead.
Photo: AFP
She calmly closed out the biggest win of her career on her first match point.
“I thought I was very composed and just did my best,” Gavrilova said. “I was believing. When I sat down with my towel [at the end], I was crying a little bit.”
Sharapova said she simply left herself too much to do in the second set.
“I had little times where I did come back, but I was always behind,” said Sharapova, who was broken four times in the contest. “I put myself in a situation that was too far behind to come back from.”
Gavrilova lives and trains in Australia, where she is coached with funding from the Australian federation and is pursuing Australian citizenship.
The triumph was her first against a top-10 player after four previous chances. She had never before beaten anyone ranked higher than world No. 35.
The remaining women’s seeds fared better, with six of the top 16 making it through to the third round.
Fourth seed Caroline Wozniacki lost just one game in a 6-0, 6-1 hammering of Madison Brengle of the US, while Polish seventh seed Agnieszka Radwanska defeated Anna Schmiedlova 6-4, 7-5.
Eighth seed Ekaterina Makarova of Russia, German ninth seed Andrea Petkovic, 12th seed Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain, 15th seed Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic and 16th seed Venus Williams of the US all advanced.
Venus Williams, playing her first match since Feb. 27, defeated Agnieszka Radwanska’s younger sister, Urszula, 6-3, 6-2 to set up a meeting with Australia’s Sam Stosur.
In the men’s singles, Canada’s Vasek Pospisil spoiled Juan Martin del Potro’s return from injury with a 6-4, 7-6 (9/7) first-round win over the former US Open champion.
Argentine Del Potro showed the rust after months of left-wrist injury rehab in a contest lasting a shade under two hours.
The former world No. 4, who has slumped to No. 616 in the rankings, double-faulted on a set point which would have leveled the contest at a set each.
He saved one match point with an ace, before succumbing with a long service return.
Del Potro, who had come back from right-wrist surgery in 2010, underwent surgery on his left wrist in March last year.
He finished last season outside the top 100 for the first time since 2005 after contesting just four tournaments.
Del Potro made an aborted comeback attempt in January, before pulling out of the Australian Open because of pain in the wrist and underwent a second surgery two months ago.
Despite the defeat, he said he believes he is heading in the right direction.
“I don’t feel frustrated, I have to take the positive things on my comeback,” Del Potro said. “It doesn’t matter the score for now ... I just wanted to play tennis and without pain.”
Greek swimmer Kristian Gkolomeev was the only athlete to “beat” a world record on Sunday at the Enhanced Games, winning the men’s 50m freestyle at the divisive competition where athletes were free to take performance-enhancing substances. His time of 20.81 seconds — which is not considered official — came in the final event of the night in Las Vegas, sparing the blushes of organizers who made claims that multiple world records would be surpassed due to a sophisticated doping regime. Gkolomeev, who was wearing a synthetic “supersuit” long banned at events such as the Olympics, outpaced Australia’s Cameron McEvoy’s 20.88 set in
Fred Kerley is competing unaugmented against drug-fuelled athletes at this weekend’s Enhanced Games and still hopes to race in the 2028 Olympics, the suspended former 100m world champion said on Friday. Arguably the biggest name at the divisive event in Las Vegas, where doping is permitted, the US sprinter said he had chosen not to take any of the banned substances including testosterone and steroids that his competitors have been using. “I don’t need it. God gave me fast feet for a reason. And I’m here to showcase my talent,” Kerley said. Kerley last September became the first US competitor and first track
VICTORY ABROAD: The team took home a fistful of medals and secured spots for the autumn’s Asian Games, scheduled for September in Nagoya Taiwan’s women’s team captured the overall title at the Asian Taekwondo Championships in Mongolia on Sunday, finishing with two golds, one silver and one bronze medal. The strong showing, led by gold medalists Wang Chieh-ling and Chang Jui-en secured the full quota of available spots for Taiwan at the Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan, in September. Wang opened Taiwan’s medal run by winning gold in the women’s under-46kg class on Thursday, the first day of competition. Liu Yu-yun later earned a silver in the under-49kg class. On the final day on Sunday, Chang won Taiwan’s second gold medal in the under-62kg event, and
The manager of the Yomiuri Giants, one of Japan’s most popular baseball teams, resigned yesterday after he was arrested for allegedly physically attacking his teenage daughter. Shinnosuke Abe allegedly grabbed the 18-year-old and forced her to the floor at their home in central Tokyo on Monday evening, reported national broadcaster NHK and Kyodo News, citing unnamed police sources. “Leaving like this really means I’m causing you a lot of trouble, and I feel truly sorry about that,” Abe told a hastily arranged news conference, his eyes red with tears. The former star catcher, who is among baseball-obsessed Japan’s most recognized sports figures,
RSS