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Sharapova gets philosophical after shock loss

Updated on: 24 January,2011 09:21 AM IST |
AFP |

Tennis glamour girl Maria Sharapova put her latest Grand Slam disappointment down to another bad day at the office yesterday after crashing out of the Australian Open's fourth round

Tennis glamour girl Maria Sharapova put her latest Grand Slam disappointment down to another bad day at the office yesterday after crashing out of the Australian Open's fourth round.

Sharapova, the 2008 champion, turned in an insipid performance as she was thrashed by Germany's Andrea Petkovic 6-2, 6-3.

The 23-year-old Russian won three Grand Slam titles between 2004 and 2008 on her way to reaching World No 1. But she has struggled to regain that form since a shoulder operation in late 2008 and has not looked like challenging for a major since then.

"I have enough money, I have a great family, but when I was away from the sport, everything I wanted to do was to wake up in the morning put on my shoes and go out there and run and play. When it was taken away from me, I realised how much I loved it.

"When you go through it every single day, you almost forget a little bit. You take a step back and, you know, I miss this. I really wanted it.

"If you're not in the draw, you never give yourself an opportunity to be a champion."

Sharapova was disappointing against Petkovic, serving five double faults and making 30 unforced errors.

"I definitely wasn't there," she said. "Not many things were working. It was just one of those days. Just not a good day at the office.u00a0 I didn't get my first break point until it was a set and 5-1 (down). That's not the type of tennis I want to be playing."

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