Former champion Maria Sharapova has lost her first-round match at the Australian Open to fellow Russian Maria Kirilenko 7-6 (4), 3-6, 6-4.
The 14{+t}{+h}-seeded Sharapova, who won the Australian Open in 2008 but missed last year’s tournament due to shoulder surgery, fell behind 4-1 in the third set Monday after taking a 2-0 lead when she broke Kirilenko’s serve in a game that went to deuce nine times.
Sharapova rallied to get back to 4-5, but had her serve broken in the final game.
Kirilenko next plays Yvonne Meusburger of Austria, who beat Timea Bacsinszky of Switzerland 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 in another match Monday.
