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Sharapova, Roddick out in second round of Wimbledon
Published on Fri, Jun 27, 2008 at 01:43, Updated on Fri, Jun 27, 2008 at 02:30 in Sports » Tennis section
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OUT SHE GOES: Sharapova (L) walks out as Alla Kudryavtseva waves to the crowd after pulling off an upset win.
Wimbledon: Former champion Maria Sharapova and two-time runner-up Andy Roddick were upset in the second round in a day of big surprises at Wimbledon on Thursday.
Sharapova was ousted by a 154th-ranked Russian, marking her earliest exit from a Grand Slam tournament since her first full season on tour in 2003.
Her game littered by double faults and ugly unforced errors, the third-seeded Sharapova slumped to a 6-2, 6-4 loss to 20-year-old Alla Kudryavtseva on Court 1.
The upstart winner even rubbed it in by trashing the fashion icon's widely publicised Wimbledon ensemble of tuxedo-style blouse and shorts.
"I don't like her outfit," Kudryavtseva said. "It was one of the motivations to beat her."
Roddick, who lost in the 2004 and 2005 Wimbledon finals to Roger Federer, went out 6-7 (5), 7-5, 6-4, 7-6 (4) to 40th-ranked Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia, who has never gone past the fourth round at a major.
The sixth-seeded Roddick went 0-8 on break points, while Tipsarevic converted both of his break chances. Roddick had three set points in the fourth set but couldn't capitalise, and Tipsarevic finished him off in the tiebreaker, falling to his hands and knees in celebration on Centre Court.
"This means the world to me," Tipsarevic said.
He pulled off the biggest win of his career just a day after No. 3-ranked countryman Novak Djokovic was knocked out on the same court by Marat Safin.
"I'm just glad that I won and Serbia will have more representatives in the men's singles draw," Tipsarevic said.
Sharapova, who won the 2004 Wimbledon title at age 17, hadn't lost so early in a Grand Slam since going out in the first round at the Australian and French Open and second round at the US Open in 2003.
"She had nothing to lose," Sharapova said. "She went for her shots. I can't be really happy about anything today."
Sharapova is the second marquee player eliminated in as many days. But her defeat to a little-known player with a career Grand Slam record of 4-5 was a much bigger shock than Djokovic's loss to former No. 1 Safin on Wednesday.
Defending champion Venus Williams, meanwhile, overcame another erratic performance and pulled away to beat Britain's Anne Keothavong 7-5, 6-2 and reach the third round. In men's play, second-seeded Rafael Nadal rallied to beat 19-year-old Latvian star Ernests Gulbis 5-7, 6-2, 7-6 (2), 6-3.
On paper, it seemed inconceivable Kudryavtseva could beat the three-time Grand Slam winner and reigning Australian Open champion — especially at the tournament where Sharapova made her major breakthrough four years ago.
Kudryavtseva, who was born in Moscow and now lives in Miami, lost in the first round at Wimbledon to eventual champion Venus Williams last year. She has been ranked as high as No. 59 last year.
In their only previous meeting, Sharapova won easily, 6-1, 6-4, at the French Open last year.
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