If I was to tell you that Maria Sharapova, the obvious favorite at Wimbledon considering all the upsets in the first week of play, would card 57 winners in her fourth round match against Angelique Kerber, you would probably expect a win, but that wasn't the case on Tuesday in London.
Kerber upset Sharapova 7-6 (4), 4-6, 6-4 in a match that is almost tough to explain considering the fireworks that went down in that third set, when Sharapova fought off match point after match point on her own serve before eventually sending a backhand wide to give Kerber the win.
Sharapova is a three-set genius, but that almost always comes when she wins the first set and has a letdown in the second. On Tuesday it was Kerber who got off to a hot start, something that hasn't been a recipe for success for Sharapova, who hasn't won a match after dropping the first set at Wimbledon in 10 years.
Along with that, Sharapova was coming in having not beaten a top-10 player at Wimbledon since 2006, and while it looked like she might battle back in this match to give herself a chance at pulling this one out, it was just too much tennis from Kerber, who pushed Sharapova around the court in that final game, eventually winning it on her seventh match point.
The problems for Sharapova extend past this upset. With Serena Williams, Li Na, Victoria Azarenka, Ana Ivanovic and Caroline Wozniacki all out at Wimbledon, it looked like this might be Sharapova's best chance at a second Wimbledon title and first since '04, but grass just hasn't been the surface that Sharapova has played her best tennis on.
Since 2006, Sharapova has made it to the quarterfinals just once at Wimbledon, but after her French Open win and all the upsets early on the women's side, it looked like this would be the perfect path for Maria.
Sadly, there were just too many unforced errors from the No. 5 seed, who leaves Wimbledon with another disappointing exit, while Kerber moves on to face the confident Eugenie Bouchard in a quarterfinal match that most expected would include Maria Sharapova.
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Shane Bacon is the editor of Devil Ball Golf and Busted Racquet on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shanebaconblogs@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter at @ShaneBacon!
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