MOSCOW, June 26 (R-Sport) - Third seed Maria Sharapova was dumped out of the Wimbledon tennis tournament on Wednesday by world No. 131 Michelle Larcher de Brito in one of the biggest upsets of the Grand Slam so far.
The Portuguese qualifier, 20, took the first set with surprising ease and met only a little more resistance in the second from an out-of-sorts Sharapova for a 6-3, 6-4 victory and the biggest scalp of her career.
"It was the best win of my career – amazing. I can't believe it,” De Brito said in comments to the BBC.
The Russian, who won the event as a fresh-faced 17-year-old in 2004, took a medical time-out midway through the match after landing awkwardly on court.
It is Sharapova's worst showing at Wimbledon since 2009, when she lost in three sets to Gisela Dulko of Argentina, and it ranks alongside Rafael Nadal's shock first-round defeat to little-known Belgian Steve Darcis.
Larcher de Brito, for her part, is yet to register a WTA title and reaches the third round for the first time at SW19 - and for just the second time ever at a Grand Slam.
She plays Karin Knapp of Italy, ranked just 27 places above her, for a place in the last 16.
There was better news for Russia elsewhere, with 25th seed Ekaterina Makarova fighting past Spaniard Garbine Muguruza in three sets, 6-2, 6-7(3), 6-4.
Makarova reaches the third round for the first time in six attempts, but has her work cut out if she is to progress any further: 2011 champion Petra Kvitova stands in the way of a place in the last 16. The two players have never met before.
Kvitova walked into the third round after her opponent Yaroslava Shvedova pulled out with an arm injury.
