Porsche Tennis: Sharapova beaten by Mladenovic in Stuttgart semi-final

Sport360 staff 21:25 29/04/2017
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Mail
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • WhatsApp
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • Sharapova's run in Germany is over.

    Maria Sharapova lost in the semi-finals in Stuttgart on Saturday, her controversial comeback from a 15-month doping ban ending in defeat to one of her biggest critics.

    Sharapova, a five-time Grand Slam winner and former world number one, lost 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Kristina Mladenovic as the Russian exited her first tournament back from a ban after testing positive for meldonium at the 2016 Australian Open.

    “I’m not angry, I’d have loved to have used the opportunity when I was ahead in the second set, so I had a bit of a let down which allowed her to get back in the match, gain confidence and play well,” said Sharapova.

    Mladenovic has been a vocal critic of Sharapova’s return to tennis and on the eve of their semi accused her of getting “extra help”, having been handed wild cards to play at the Stuttgart, Madrid and Rome tournaments.

    Having started her comeback with a world ranking of zero on Wednesday, due to her ban, reaching the semi-final means Sharapova has already moved up to 260th in the world.

    Sharapova refused to blame a lack of fitness for her defeat, but says she needs match practise after her enforced break.

    “If at the start of the week I’d said I’d be in this position, I’d be pretty happy with that,” she said.

    “The way I played, I was really happy with that. You are never sure what level you are going to come onto the court with, but I feel this is a great base with which I started here.”

    Sharapova will learn on May 16 whether she will be given a wild card for the main draw at Roland Garros and Mladenovic was complimentary of the Russian after her semi-final victory.

    From AFP

    Recommended