It was a 1st-round Russian battle between two Marias, with Maria Sharapova coming out on the short end of the deal. After almost 3 1/2 hours of play, just short of a record 3 hours 33 minutes at the Australian Open, it was 58th ranked Maria Kirilenko prevailing over 14th ranked Sharapova in a tough 3-set fight, 7-6(4), 3-6, 6-4.
Sharapova was smiling in the photo as she hit the practice court before her first match. However, she is no longer smiling as she continues to struggle with her serve, committing 11 doubles faults, and adding 60 some unforced errors. It was Kirilenko who remained steady throughout the match, which gave Kirilenko perhaps the greatest victory of her career.
This is the first time Sharapova has lost in the 1st round of the Australian Open since 2003, the first year she played in the majors. In 2003 she lost the 1st round of the Australian Open, and the 1st round in the French Open. She hasn’t lost a 1st round match in a major since then.
Sharapova didn’t play any of the sanctioned tournaments since last October, choosing instead to just play in some exhibition matches. That may have been a mistake, as she just wasn’t on her game. She seems to have needed more tournament experience. It appears Sharapova still isn’t fully recovered from her shoulder injury, or at least not back on her game yet.
Kirilenko was down 2-4 in the 1st set, came back, and then won the last 5 points of the tie-break. She got up a break in the 3rd set, but down 3-5, Sharapova broke Kirilenko to get back on serve 4-5. However, Kirilenko broke right back to win the match at 6-4.
The Australian Open is off to an exciting start. Stay tuned for more exciting action.
