Vitalia Diatchenko Hands Maria Sharapova First Wimbledon Opening Round Loss
No. 24 seed Maria Sharapova suffered a shocking upset on Tuesday, losing to Russian Vitalia Diatchenko in three sets, 6-7, 7-6, 6-4.
The loss was Sharapova's first in the opening round at Wimbledon in 14 appearances in her career.
Diatchenko is the No. 132 ranked player in the world, beating the 2004 Wimbledon champion in just under three hours.
Sharapova was on the verge of advancing, up 5-2 in the second set after winning the first. But Diatchenko rallied to win the second set and the third, shocking her Russian counterpart.
Sharapova made her first appearance at Wimbledon since 2015, missing the tournament for the last two years due to an injury and doping ban.
A record seven top-10 seeds between the men and women have been upset in the opening round, the most in Grand Slam history.
