Dulko downs former champion Sharapova
Former champion Maria Sharapova knocked out by Gisela Dulko
Also In The News
|
By James Christie. |  |
Wednesday, 24, Jun 2009 10:44
By Alistair Potter.
Former world number one Maria Sharapova has been knocked out of this year's Wimbledon Championships by unseeded Argentinean Gisela Dulko.
The 24-year-old overcame a patchy performance in the face of extreme pressure from the Russian to eventually seal a 6-2 3-6 6-4 second-round win on Centre Court.
Sharapova, who won the Wimbledon ladies' singles in 2004, started badly and quickly lost the first set having been broken twice by her opponent.
She looked on the verge of a very swift exit when she went down a break early in the second set - but in typical Sharapova fashion she took full advantage of a slip in concentration from Dulko to break serve three times and level the match.
At that stage, the former winner looked odds on to progress to the third round as she held the momentum but again Dulko pulled out a great game to earn an early break and a 3-1 lead.
Nerves played a part as she lost serve in the very next game to go level again.
But when Sharapova served two double faults in game nine and allowed Dulko to take the initiative again, she did not let it slip and served out for the victory - despite the Russian saving three match points along the way.
"I think it's the biggest win I've had," she said afterwards.
"To beat a great champion, it's a great day for me. I'm new to this and these type of players can turn the match so quickly.
"But I just had to keep fighting. I was really nervous at the end."
Dulko, who is currently outside the world's top 100, has reached the third stage on three previous occasions - including last year - and will face tenth seed Nadia Petrova in her next match.