Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova crashed out of the quarter-finals of the WTA Paris Open on Friday after a shock defeat to Germany’s Angelique Kerber, the world no. 27.
Kerber beat Sharapova 6-4, 6-4 to set up a semi-final with either Belgian world no. 22 Yanina Wickmayer or German qualifier Mona Barthel.
The win was Kerber’s first against a top-10 ranked player, and came after she lost to Sharapova in straight sets at the Australian Open last month, the first time the two had played each other.
Sharapova’s erratic performance mirrored her showing at the Fed Cup in Moscow on Saturday, where she won one rubber before withdrawing with a cold.
Following her defeat to Viktoria Azarenka in the final of the Australian Open, Sharapova, 24, has not won a tournament since victory in Cincinnati in August 2011.
Her last Grand Slam victory was at the Australian Open in January 2008.
