Maria Sharapova retired for the first time in her career in the first round of Wimbledon. The former world number one from Russia lost in her opening match against her compatriot Vitalia Diatchenko (WTA No. 132) with 7:6 (7:3), 6:7 (3:7), 4:6.
After 3:08 hours, Sharapova’s eleventh double mistake sealed their surprising end. She had already led with set and 5:2 in the second heat, but lost the comfortable lead.
In an intense and exciting match, the 31-year-old made a total of 34 unforced mistakes (27 winners). Most recently Sharapova had presented himself in good form at the French Open and only failed in Roland Garros in the quarter-finals to Garbine Muguruza (Spain).
Seated 24th in Southwest London, Sharapova won her first Grand Slam tournament in Wimbledon in 2004 at the age of 17. The 1.88 metre tall Russian has now collected a total of five major trophies – the last one she won in Paris in 2014.
For Diatchenko, number 132 in the WTA ranking, this success was the biggest coup in her career so far. The right-hander from Sochi had never won a match in the main field of the world’s most important grass court tournament before.