Sharapova after loss to Bouchard: "I absolutely don't think I served smart today"

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  • What a match: From Sharapova and Bouchard.

    Maria Sharapova rued her missed opportunities in her three-set defeat to Eugenie Bouchard in the Madrid Open second round on Monday and dismissed any suggestions that the hype around the match and around the Russian’s return to tennis may have been a distraction.

    Sharapova faced off with Bouchard after the Canadian had called her a cheater who deserved a lifetime ban from the sport.

    Bouchard, the Russian’s most vocal critic, admitted she had extra motivation to beat Sharapova, and was inspired by players who wished her luck in the locker room before the match. Sharapova however insists she remains unaffected by such comments.

    “Not from my end. Every match at this point is important. I’m just one of the two players that’s out on the court. Everything that surrounds myself, I don’t really know a lot of it. I don’t pay attention to much of it,” she said when asked if the circus that has erupted around her since her return from suspension has been a distraction.

    “I’ve been part of this game for many years. I know what the drill is. I know the excitement. I know there’s always a lot of talk and buzz, matchups, rivalries, news. It’s all part of the game. But at the end of the day, it’s just two athletes competing against each other, and I’m one of them. That’s how I treat this game.”

    Sharapova was up a break in the first set before she dropped it to Bouchard and despite firing 44 winners, committed 49 unforced errors and could only convert five of the 15 break point opportunities she created.

    “I definitely thought I should have taken care of the first set,” said Sharapova. “I had a letdown, being up a break. I was happy with the way I changed things around in the second, stepped in, was a little bit more aggressive inside the baseline. Then the third, kind of felt like it was a similar pattern: set up opportunities, breakpoints, and just did not convert them today.

    “I absolutely don’t think I served smart today, especially when I was up, going for a few more free points, not getting myself in the rallies, which I thought I was winning most of the time.”

    It was just Sharapova’s sixth match into her comeback from a 15-month doping ban. While she is undoubtedly grateful to be back competing again, the sting of defeat remains a big disappointment.

    “I think I would be worried about myself if I sat here and said I’m pretty happy with losing a tennis match, no matter who I face, no matter what round it is, whether it’s the first round or final of a Grand Slam,” said Sharapova. “You know, I’m a big competitor. What you work for for so many hours every single day is to be on the winning end of matches. Today was just not that day.

    “Of course, I’m disappointed. That’s what’s going to make me a better player. That’s what’s going to win me more tournaments and more Grand Slams.”

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