Picking up her racquet bag and marching straight out of Rod Laver Arena without a nod or a wave, Maria Sharapova's abrupt exit after her fourth-round loss to Dominika Cibulkova on Monday spoke volumes of her disdain for a forgettable Australian Open.
After a long layoff and with doubts surrounding the state of her troublesome right shoulder, the 26-year-old entered the tournament with only four matches of preparation and with rust caked on so thick she could not shake it off. She had enough fight to survive three tests against unheralded opponents at Melbourne Park, but against 24th seed Cibulkova, a tenacious counter-puncher who has worried the Russian in the past, the wheels fell off.
The shoulder was put to one side as a hip strain came to the fore, and the 2008 champion took a medical time-out between the second and third sets of the 3-6 6-4 6-1 loss. Blaming injuries has never been Sharapova's way, and the Russian has grit her teeth and toughed it out before on her way to winning four grand slam titles. "I don't think it's rocket science.
Just when you play a lot of tennis, you're going to get these types of aches and pains and certain movements that you feel it on," she told reporters glumly. "I certainly would have loved to play a little bit more before playing a grand slam, but this is the chance that I was given. "I'm smart enough to be able to take it and acknowledge that I'm still pretty lucky to be in the draw and giving myself a chance to try to win it." While she played down the hip injury, Sharapova's serve may not be as easily fixed before her next tournament, likely to be the Paris indoors starting next Monday.Read more..
Source: Sports News
Frustrating Australian Open all over for Maria Sharapova