Sharapova suffers shock first-round exit in Doha
Doha: Maria Sharapova’s challenge at the Qatar Total Open lasted only two hours and 38 minutes.
The two-time champion in Doha and former world No.1 started with a break of serve thanks to her opponent Monica Niculescu’s opening jitters, suffered a hiccup before steadying herself to win the first set. But the Russian lost her bearings in the next two to gown down 6-4, 4-6, 3-6 to Romanian Niculescu at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex on Monday.
Even though Sharapova won the first set, there were plenty worrying signs for her as she huffed and puffed through it. The once glamour girl of tennis, before meldonium played spoilsport in her career, needed nine break points in the seventh game to take a 5-2 lead in the first set which she eventually closed down at 6-4.
Sharapova, trying to force her way back into the elite circle after being out of the game for 15 months, lost the second set 4-6, allowing Niculescu to come back into the match.
The 30-year-old Niculescu, who defeated Andrea Petkovic in the qualifiers, then broke Sharapova in the eighth game to take a decisive 5-3 lead in the third set and then duly closed it with her next service game.
"I thought I did a really good job of that the first set and a half, but that's obviously not enough to win the match," said Sharapova. "I did a good job of winning the longer rallies, even though that's not really what I wanted to get myself into. So physically I felt good. I just got pretty passive in the end and starting making too many errors."
"I think there's always something to work on whether you win or lose. And I'm not shy of the work. So I'll continue to do that," she added.
Agnieszka Radwanska, another seasoned campaigner, needed three sets to overcame her opening jitters and beat Mona Barthel 3-6, 6-3, 7-5.
Earlier, American teenager Catherine Bellis, a future prospect, advanced into the round of 32 after her opponent Daria Kasatkina of Russia retired midway through their game. Bellis was leading 7-5, 4-1 when Kasatkina pulled out.
In other matches, Slovakia’s Dominika Cibulkova defeated Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia 7-6 (8-6), 6-4, Anna Blinkova, also of Russia, bundled out compatriot Elena Vesnina 6-1, 6-3, Romania's Mihaela Buzarnescu defeated Lesia Tsurenko of Ukraine 7-5, 6-4, China’s Duan Yingying beat Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur 6-2, 6-3 and another Russian Ekaterina Makarova quelled the challenge of China’s Zhang Shuai 7-5, 6-0.