MADRID (AP) – To Maria Sharapova, the most disappointing part of leaving the Madrid Open was doing so in the second round.
Not losing to arch critic Eugenie Bouchard.
Sharapova will more than likely meet Bouchard again, and have another shot at beating the Canadian who wanted her banned for life for doping last year and openly called her a cheater.
More important for Sharapova for now was tournament play, winning matches, getting match fit and her ranking up to where it was before her 15-month ban.
Sharapova’s ranking rose from nothing to 258 after reaching the semifinals in Stuttgart two weeks ago, in her first tournament after her ban.