Michelle Larcher de Brito, a qualifier from Portugal, made headlines for herself at the Wimbledon 2013 Championships when she eliminated 2004 champion and third-ranked Maria Sharapova of Russia in the second round on Wednesday with a score of 6-3, 6-4.
Sharapova fought hard in the second and even attempted to turn things on her favor when de Brito was serving for the match. The Russian saved four match points in the last games but a forehand error finally sealed the deal for the young Portuguese.
“It was a combination of everything,” Sharapova said. “I give her a lot of credit. I think she played extremely well. She was really solid from the baseline. I don’t feel like I was aggressive enough, that I hit the ball deep enough. I wasn’t ready after the returns or serves. I just wasn’t there, really.”
Sharapova noticeably was struggling during the match and there were times where she slipped.
“I don’t think I’ve ever fallen three times in a match before in my career so that was a little strange, but that’s certainly not an excuse. I think today I’ve seen a lot of players fall and take a few hits and a few injuries. I think that’s just part of the game, part of what we have to deal with as tennis players.”
“But I’m going to keep my head high about it because there’s no other way. I’ll find the positives out of what I have done today and in my career, set new goals, and try to just keep moving forward.”
For Larcher de Brito, this is her first top ten win.
“I’m really excited. I really can’t believe it. It’s a little bit of shock and excitement,” Larcher said.
“I’m just really happy I got through that match. It was a really great win for me.
“The end was really nerve-wracking. I tried to stay calm. I gave it my all. It was 5-4. If I lost that, it would have been 5-all. If it were 5-all, it would have been tough to get back up again, because she was serving, and she was serving really well. I thought, ‘Now or never.’ I tried to stay calm, even though it’s hard sometimes. I just gave it my all, like I always do, and it turned out well for me in the end.”
