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Sports

Wednesday June 3, 2009

Cibulkova sends Sharapova packing in one of her career’s worst defeats

FRENCH OPEN
ROLAND GARROS (MAY 24 - JUNE 7)

Maria Sharapova suffered one of the worst defeats of her career yesterday when she was beaten 6-0, 6-2 by Slovakia’s Dominika Cibulkova in the French Open quarter-finals.

It was the former world No. 1’s heaviest loss since she went down 6-1, 6-1 to Serena Williams in the fourth round in Miami in 2007.

It could have been a lot worse for one of sport’s most high-profile women as Cibulkova, playing in her first Grand Slam quarter-final, had a match point to complete a 6-0, 6-0 humiliation before the Russian managed to put two games together to stop the rot.

Had she suffered a whitewash, it would have been only her second ‘double-bagel’ after she lost 6-0, 6-0 to Lindsay Davenport in the Indian Wells semi-finals in 2005.

Sharapova saved three more match points in the eighth game of the second set before her resistance crumbled with a netted forehand.

“It took me a while to get going and create good opportunities to come to the net and finish the point,” said Sharapova, who had played four three-setters to get this far in just her second event since returning from a 10-month injury lay-off.

“But you can only ask your body to do so much. Everything fell short and the pace wasn’t there. It all combined but she played really solid and I came up short.”

Cibulkova, the 20th seed, will now will face top seed Dinara Safina, who earlier put out Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, for a place in the final.

“It might be a surprising result for people who don’t know me but I played solid from the baseline and didn’t make too many errors,” said the Bratislava girl.

“I knew that if I could make her move around the court I would have a chance.

Sharapova was bidding to reach her second semi-final following a run to the 2007 last four.

The Russian star, whose ranking slumped to 126 in the world during her time off the tour, had won both her previous matches against the pint-sized, 20-year-old Cibulkova and both were on clay.

But Cibulkova, 27cm shorter than the glamorous Russian, was in complete control of the quarter-final, breaking in the first, third and fifth games of the opening set.

In the men’s event, Fernando Gonzalez has advanced to the French Open semi-finals for the first time by beating third-seeded Andy Murray 6-3, 3-6, 6-0, 6-4.

The No. 12-seeded Gonzalez was broken serving for the match at 5-4 in the final set, but he broke back at love for the victory.

Gonzalez finished with 24 forehand winners to three for Murray. — Agencies

RESULTS

Men

Fourth round: Gael Monfils (Fra) bt Andy Roddick (USA) 6-4, 6-2, 6-3.

Quarter-finals: Robin Soderling (Swe) bt Nikolay Davydenko (Rus) 6-1, 6-3, 6-1; Fernando Gonzalez (Chi) bt Andy Murray (Bri) 6-3, 3-6, 6-0, 6-4.

Doubles quarter-final: Daniel Nestor-Nenad Zimonjic (Can-Srb) bt Igor Kunitsyn-Dmitry Tursunov (Rus) 6-4, 6-2; Bob Bryan-Mike Bryan (US) bt Marc Lopez-Tommy Robredo (Spa) 7-6 (7-1), 4-6, 7-6 (7-2).

Women

Fourth round: Samantha Stosur (Aus) bt Virginie Razzano (Fra) 6-1, 6-2.

Quarter-finals: Dinara Safina (Rus) bt Victoria Azarenka (Bel) 1-6, 6-4, 6-2; Dominika Cibulkova (Svk) bt Maria Sharapova (Rus) 6-0, 6-2.

Doubles quarter-finals: Cara Black-Liezel Huber (Zim-USA) bt Bethanie Mattek-Sands-Nadia Petrova (USA-Rus) 6-3, 6-3; Cara Black-Liezel Huber (Zim-US) bt Bethanie Mattek-Sands-Nadia Petrova (US-Rus) 6-3, 6-3.

Mixed doubles quarter-finals: Anna-Lena Groenefeld-Mark Knowles (Ger-Bah) bt Alisa Kleybanova-Bruno Soares (Rus-Bra) 4-6, 6-3, 10-7.

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