Maria Sharapova during her women’s singles fourth round loss to Anastasija Sevastova.
MARIA Sharapova’s grand slam return after a 15-month doping ban has ended in the US Open fourth round with the former world No.1 losing to Latvian 16th seed Anastasija Sevastova.
The 30-year-old Russian star, whose five Grand Slam titles include the 2006 US Open, fell 5-7 6-4 6-2 to Sevastova, who booked a Tuesday quarter-final matchup against American Sloane Stephens.
Sharapova, who returned to the tour in April after her suspension ended, had defeated world No.2 Simona Halep in the first round and was being spoken about as a potential title contender.
But despite pocketing the first set, her challenge fizzled out when she needed a medical timeout to treat a blister on her right hand.
She finished with 42 winners but 51 unforced errors against Sevastova, who also made the quarter-finals in 2016.
Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia.Source:AFP
“Playing on Ashe stadium is an amazing atmosphere, every time. It’s fun to play here,” said 27-year-old Sevastova, who took victory on a fourth match point when Sharapova pushed a service return wide.
“The first set was very close. It could have gone either way. She played unbelievable throughout the first and second set and I just kept fighting, running for every ball.
“The emotions were high when I was 5-2 up in the final set. I wanted to close it so much.”
Originally published as Sharapova knocked out of US Open
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