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Russian tennis chief: Sharapova showed decent play at 2018 Roland Garros tournament

Earlier in the day, Spain’s Garbine Muguruza roamed past Sharapova with 6-2, 6-1 straight sets victory in their quarterfinals encounter

Maria Sharapova AP Photo/Thibault Camus

Maria Sharapova

© AP Photo/Thibault Camus

MOSCOW, June 6. /TASS/. Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova displayed a decent play at the current 2018 French Open tennis competition, although she was knocked out on Wednesday in her match for the semifinals round of the Grand Slam tournament, President of the Russian Tennis Federation (RTF) Shamil Tarpishchev told TASS.

Earlier in the day, Spain’s Garbine Muguruza roamed past Russia’s Maria Sharapova with 6-2, 6-1 straight sets victory in their quarterfinals encounter on a French court of the 2018 Roland Garros.

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Spain’s Muguruza knocks out Sharapova en route to 2018 French Open semis

"Sharapova played decently in France and once again returned to the elite," Tarpishchev said in an interview with TASS. "Unfortunately, she flushed the serves and failed to force the game on the opponent in the match against Muguruza."

"Her bad serves are obviously the result of her ill-fated shoulder injury," the RTF president said. "Sharapova is a player with a strong will, but there is not enough stability in her serves."

The 2018 Roland Garros, or the French Open, is the second Grand Slam tournament this year with $45.7 million in prize money up for grabs and it runs between May 21 and June 10.

Third-seed Muguruza reached the semifinal stage of the French Open for the second year in a row and today’s confident win of 6-2; 6-1 was her comeback on her previous 0-3 head-to-head record against experienced Sharapova, who was seeded 28th at this tournament.

Muguruza and Sharapova, who is the two-time French Open winner, last faced each other in 2014, but since then the Spanish tennis player won two Grand Slam titles and was listed as the World’s No. 1.

The 24-yeuar-old Spaniard is now set to face in the semifinal round this tournament’s top-seed Simona Halep of Romania.

Sharapova is Russia’s most decorated tennis player having won a total of five Grand Slam tournaments, namely the Australian Open in 2008, the French Open in 2012 and 2014, Wimbledon in 2004 and the US Open in 2006. She also clinched the silver in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London and was the 2008 Federations Cup champion.

After the 15-month long suspension, imposed in 2016 for violating anti-doping regulations, Sharapova made her comeback to tennis in April 2017.

Last October, Sharapova won the 2017 WTA Tianjin Open in China and it was her first tournament to win since May 2015.

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Maria Sharapova

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