Her French Open title was ripped away from her through a fourth defeat in a grand slam final and a 13th straight loss to Serena Williams, but Maria Sharapova says she will leave Paris with no regrets.
That was the Russian’s mindset in the wake of her 6-4 6-4 loss to the American in the final at Roland Garros on a day when she led in the first set and battled back to 4-4 in the second but, in the end, failed to grab her chances.
Dwelling on what had happened was not something she would entertain, Sharapova said.
“I don’t have many regrets in life actually. I try not to have any at all,” she said.
“You have to move forward. And it doesn’t matter how many times I have lost to a player or what situation I was in, whether I was up or down, how it ended or how it finished.
“You move on. Of course, I thought I earned my position to be in the final. I did put up a fight obviously today against her. It was not enough.
“But she’s been playing really great tennis. Certainly not an excuse, but she is playing extremely well.”
Sharapova started the match a clear underdog against a player who had run up a career-best 30-match winning streak.
But after an early barrage from the American, she was the first to nose ahead and had two break points on her own serve to lead 3-0 only for the American win the next four games.
Then in the second set, she looked down and out at 2-4 and break point against her but battled back to be level at 4-4 before Williams put the match away.
Asked where she had gone wrong, Sharapova agreed these had been key moments.
“Well, 2-0, 40-15 and (in the second set) 4 all, losing my serve right away in that game, you know, easy passing shot, first point,” she said.
“I know I’m nitpicking here, but these are moments against her that I feel that I should be able to take.
“But I think getting to the Roland Garros final is not too shabby, so I’d say that’s a positive.”
Sharapova will turn to the Wimbledon grasscourts where she made her grand slam breakthrough in 2004 as a 17-year-old, defeating Serena in straight sets.
