Maria Sharapova, the
No3 seed, slipped three times on the same spot before losing to Michelle
Larcher de Brito. Photograph: Michael Mayhew/Sportsphoto/Allstar
Maria Sharapova has led criticism of the condition of the Wimbledon
courts, after she slipped three times and then fell out of the
tournament altogether on a day when a record seven players were forced
to pull out through injury. The Russian, who lost in straight sets to
the Portuguese qualifier Michelle Larcher de Brito, was one of several
stricken players who cast doubt on the courts after a spree of falls,
retirements and withdrawals.
By mid-afternoon on the third day of
the tournament, the polite chatter and manicured lawns of the All
England Club had become more of a field hospital full of anguished cries
as players dropped like nine pins. Seven athletes, from the feted
conqueror of Rafael Nadal, Steve Darcis, to the fancied Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and the women's second seed, Victoria Azarenka, were forced to withdraw and several others suffered injuries. Caroline Wozniacki,
the ninth seed and former world No1, crashed out in straight sets to
Petra Cetkovska after falling and twisting her ankle on Court Two.
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