Maria Sharapova overcame illness to reach the second week at the French Open but she couldn’t get past a firing Lucie Safarova on Monday.
The defending champion was ousted 7-6 (7-3) 6-4 by the 13th seed in the fourth round, making it Sharapova’s earliest exit at Roland Garros since crashing out in the third round in 2010.
The Czech struck 34 winners to go along with just 22 unforced errors in an encounter that was pushed back to Monday because of rain. She sealed the upset with a vicious cross-court forehand winner.
“I felt like I had small openings,” Sharapova told reporters. “I just wasn’t able to keep that level up today. She was able to do that for a longer period of time.
“She was the much more aggressive player. She took the time away from me, created her angles and I didn’t. That was the difference today.”
Sharapova had refused to conduct post-match interviews on court to preserve her voice, and her shrieks over the last week when striking the ball were largely muted. But she wasn’t making excuses.
“I’m still a competitor no matter what,” she said. “I’m going to do everything in order to go out and give it my best, and I think I did the best I could. Today it wasn’t enough, because my opponent had a different gear than I did.”
Safarova next faces Spanish 21st-seed Garbine Muguruza, who defeated Italy’s Flavia Pennetta 6-3 6-4 in another fourth-round clash in Paris.
Sharapova’s exit means only one top-10 player — Ana Ivanovic — remains in the bottom half of the draw.
Roger Federer set up an all-Swiss quarterfinal with Stan Wawrinka in the men’s draw when he completed a four-set win over local hope Gael Monfils 6-3 4-6 6-4 6-1. They were tied at one set apiece when darkness halted play Sunday. Monfils had beaten Federer in their previous two encounters.
World No. 1 Serena Williams, men’s No. 1 Novak Djokovic and nine-time men’s champion Rafael Nadal all play later Monday.